BIDDEFORD — June 23 was a momentous day for Biddeford resident Ryan Fecteau. That was the date the New York state legislature passed a marriage equality bill, allowing people of the same sex to marry one another.
It was also the day that he decided to “come out” about his own homosexuality to his mother.
“It just seemed like the right time,” said Fecteau, who will be a sophomore at Catholic University in Washington, D.C. this fall. He said his conversation with his mother went well, and she accepts him.
“I think (passage of the legislation) gives courage to people currently in closet,” he said.
In addition, said Fecteau, who advocated for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights during his freshman year in college, the bill proved “the work we were doing is going to lead to progress.”
In order to further that progress, Fecteau, along with another Biddeford resident and college student, Brooke Luro, are working to pass a similar marriage equality measure in Maine.
The two students are spending their summer as field organizers for the EqualityMaine organization’s York County office, located on Center Street in Biddeford.
Luro, who will be a senior at the University of New Hampshire this fall, said she is a women’s studies major, she considers herself a feminist and has many gay and lesbian friends.
“That’s why I’ve gotten involved,” she said.
Fecteau, Luro and EqualityMaine’s other staff and volunteers are hoping to convince Maine voters to support same-sex marriage.
In 2009, the Maine Legislature passed a same-sex marriage bill, but it was repealed through a citizens’ initiative referendum in November that same year.
EqualityMaine spokesman Timothy Rose said the group has submitted language to the Secretary of State for a ballot question on the issue, perhaps as soon as 2012.
Once the language is approved, which could happen any day, said Rose, Fecteau, Luro and other organizers can begin to collect the necessary signatures to get the referendum on the state ballot.
The most recent polls state that 53 percent of likely 2012 Maine voters would support same-sex marriage, according to Rose. That is the same percentage of voters who voted against the issue in 2009.
A significant barrier, said Luro, is that a number of people support civil unions, which would provide some rights for homosexual couples, but not marriage.
“I found that comes up a lot,” she said. “They’re stuck on the word ”˜marriage’” and believe it is reserved for heterosexual couples.
But, said Luro, marriage isn’t just a religious practice, it’s also a legal contract. Marriage confers many more rights to couples, regarding such issues as health care and inheritance, than does a civil union.
In addition, said Fecteau, allowing same-sex couples to marry is important because “the love and commitment between gay and lesbian couples is the same as between heterosexual couples.”
As a gay man, he said, “to be denied the right to marry is hurtful.”
Allowing homosexuals to marry is especially important for couples with children, said Rose. Legalizing same-sex marriage, he said, “says all families are the same.”
— Staff Writer Dina Mendros can be contacted at 282-1535, Ext. 324 or dmendros@journaltribune.com.
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