Subject: Maine Voters Reject Anti-Gay Ballot Measure
From: [email-masked]
Date: Tue, 7 Nov 1995 23:56:45 -0500

_________________________________________________________________

NEWS from the
Human Rights Campaign

1101 14th Street NW
Washington, DC 20005
email:  [email-masked]
WWW:    http://www.hrcusa.org
_________________________________________________________________

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, November 7, 1995

              MAINE VOTERS REJECT ANTI-GAY BALLOT MEASURE  
                                    
       Extreme Right Groups Thwarted in Attempt to Mislead Voters
              With New Style of Discriminatory Initiative 

                  SEE FRONTPAGE STORY ON HRC'S WEBSITE
                          http://www.hrcusa.org

Portland, Maine -- Voters in Maine today rejected a
discriminatory ballot measure that sought to forever deny basic
rights to gay and lesbian Mainers.  Question 1, the only anti-gay
measure on a state ballot this year, was the first such
initiative to appear on a state ballot east of the Rocky
Mountains.  Last year, voters in Idaho and Oregon rejected
anti-gay measures.

"Common sense and decency triumphed over extremism.  Today's vote
here in Maine is in keeping with the national trend.   Americans
are rejecting extremism," said Elizabeth Birch, executive
director of the Human Rights Campaign, the largest national
lesbian and gay political organization.  "But we must put this
campaign in perspective.  While this was a wonderful victory, gay
and lesbian citizens of Maine have not moved one step closer to
having basic equal rights.  Gay and lesbian people can still be
fired from their jobs, even in Maine, merely for being gay." 
Birch noted that Maine is one of the 41 states that does not
protect its citizens from discrimination based on sexual
orientation, and that federal law also offers no such protection.

The Human Rights Campaign sent eight staff members to Maine and
provided major technical and financial assistance to Maine Won't
Discriminate, the local coalition of religious, business, and
community organizations that worked to defeat Question 1.  The
Human Rights Campaign is also the largest single financial
contributor to the legal challenge against Colorado's Amendment
2, which is now before the U.S. Supreme Court.

National extreme right groups actively pushed for a "yes" vote on
Question 1.  Bob Knight of the Family Research Council toured the
state calling on voters to approve the measure, as did Beverly
LaHaye of Concerned Women for America.  Focus on the Family aired
radio advertisements in favor of the initiative.

Unlike earlier anti-gay measures, the language of Question 1
avoided mentioning lesbian and gay people.  The question asked
voters to limit "protected classifications" in current and future
state and local laws to ten specific categories -- not including
sexual orientation.  The measure would have repealed two local
non-discrimination laws that include gay people, and would have
prohibited communities from passing such laws in the future.  No
federal or Maine state law protects people from being fired,
refused work, or otherwise discriminated against merely for being
lesbian or gay.  Question 1 was written by Bruce Fein, a
right-wing lawyer based in Virginia, to circumvent court
decisions saying that gays should not be singled out for
discrimination.

The Human Rights Campaign, the country's largest national lesbian
and gay political organization, envisions an America where
lesbian and gay people are ensured of their basic equal rights --
and can be open, honest, and safe at home, at work, and in the
community.

                                 - 30 -

Note:  

While the official vote tally will not be available until early
Wednesday, November 8th, morning, At 11:28 p.m. EST, with 71
percent of the votes in and counted, the Portland NBC affiliate
declared Question 1 defeated at 52-48.

Earlier exit polls predicted the victory.