Sign and Support on the Fourth!

Report: People's Veto Referendum

The 4th of July Tea Party in Augusta will be the perfect day to sign a petition if you have not already done so. We hope to see you there!   

The efforts of hundreds of volunteer petition circulators from Kittery to Fort Kent are paying off as the signatures roll in for the final count in the effort to put the law legalizing same sex marriage in Maine before the voters in November.  Maine is one of the few states where citizens are privileged to generate a People's Referendum on legislation as a way to mandate that the will and voice of the people is heard and implemented.

LD 1020 continues to cause debate and great concern.  Many Mainers are unaware that although it passed both the House and Senate and was signed into law by the Governor, that its ultimate fate will be decided by Maine voters. 

55,087 valid signatures are required. They must be submitted by August 1 if the referendum question is to appear on the November 2009 ballot.  There also would be time to place the question on the June 2010 ballot if these numbers of signatures are gathered by mid September.  Supporters on both sides of this issue seem to agree that putting the issue on the November ballot would favor a successful People's Veto.

The number 55,087 is determined by calculating a percentage of the final number of votes cast for Governor in the last election.  This writer has personally obtained signatures from many people who favor same sex marriage but who also support  "the way Maine does business" with regards to the People's Veto process.  Others have indicated that for them it is simply a matter of the enormity of the issue that leads them to support a referendum as the most prudent, fair and definitive way to decide the issue. 

There is still time to participate in this effort. Please contact Miriam Conners at nuview@bigplanet.com  or 729-1549 for information on how you can become a petition circulator.