US: Hundreds rally in Portland for equal marriage
Advocates of equal marriage in the US state of Maine have kicked off a public campaign of TV adverts, bumper stickers and yard signs, with a rally in Portland.
More than 200 people turned out to push forward with the “Yes on One” campaign ahead of the election on November 6, when people in Maine will have a chance to vote yes or no on equal marriage rights.
Portland Mayor Michael Brennan, who kicked off the rally, said:
“It is my greatest hope that the first marriage ceremony that will be performed after the election in November will be in Portland at City Hall,” reported WMTW.
Sarah Dowling and Linda Wolfe attended the rally, and have been together for 18 years. They said they will marry if the public vote yes in November.
“I feel pretty good about it. Don’t tell anyone, but I bought a wedding dress a couple months ago that’s how good I’m feeling about it,” Dowling said.
The rally is to be followed closely by a TV advertising campaign which cost $100,000, and will last a week.
This issue fell at the polls three years ago, but equal marriage advocates have since had over 160,000 one-on-one conversations with voters, and are now confident that the measure can pass.
Matt McTighe of Mainers for United Marriage commented on the issue:
“Our community has never won a ballot campaign like this one before and as our opponents are so fond of saying, they’ve never lost. together we will change that on election day we can kick the last leg out from the stool that they’ve stood on to belittle our relationships and attack our families for years.”
