緬因州新的婚姻自由法將於 12 月 29 日星期六生效，該法允許同性伴侶獲得結婚證書。

據國務卿辦公室稱，該州的認證選舉結果已於 11 月 29 日星期四由州長保羅·勒佩奇簽署。新法自該日起 30 天後生效。

「緬因州同性伴侶漫長的婚姻等待即將結束，」緬因平等組織執行董事貝琪史密斯說。 「今年年底之前，緬因州所有相親相愛、忠貞不渝的伴侶都將能夠站在親朋好友和社區面前，許下永恆的誓言，永遠陪伴彼此。”

11 月 6 日，緬因州成為第一個允許同性伴侶透過全民投票獲得結婚證書的州。

雖然法律允許同性伴侶結婚，但關於該法律的實施以及美國最高法院今天就聯邦婚姻法採取的潛在行動的影響，仍然存在一些問題。

GLAD 和 EqualityMaine 將在緬因州首批同性婚姻相關事宜公佈後，提供更多相關資訊。我們正在籌劃本月稍後舉辦一場資訊網路研討會。

GLAD 撰寫了有關新法律的概述，可訪問以下網址獲取 www.gladlaw.org.

任何對緬因州婚姻法或相關問題有疑問的人都可以撥打 GLAD 的法律資訊熱線 800-455-GLAD 或 www.gladlaw.org/rights.

「緬因州同性婚姻合法化進程越來越近，有很多值得慶祝的事情，」同性戀倡導與捍衛者組織（Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders）的執行董事李·斯威斯洛（Lee Swislow）說道。 “我們將繼續與州政府官員以及有意結婚的伴侶密切合作，盡可能解答有關緬因州新法的問題。”

緬因州問題 1，即允許同性伴侶獲得結婚證書並保護宗教自由的法案，以 53% 對 47% 的投票率獲得選民通過。

本法案：
• 廢除限制一男一女婚姻的規定；
• 授權符合州法律其他婚姻要求的任何兩個人結婚；
• 規定在另一個州有效的兩個同性之間的婚姻在緬因州也有效，並且必須得到承認；並且
• 規定神職人員無須履行、宗教機構無須主持或主持違反宗教信仰的婚禮，拒絕主持或主持婚禮不能成為訴訟或法律責任的依據，也不會影響宗教機構的免稅地位。

Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) is celebrating today’s ballot vote in favor of marriage equality for same-sex couples in Maine, with the passage of Question 1: “Do you want to allow the State of Maine to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples?”

“Tonight we are thrilled, grateful, and humbled,” said Lee Swislow, Executive Director of GLAD.  “We give our heartfelt congratulations and thanks to the people of Maine for listening with open hearts and minds, and embracing equality for gay and lesbian citizens.”  She added, “Mainers United for Marriage ran a superb campaign, and I can’t praise all of the campaign staff and volunteers enough.”

Mary L. Bonauto, GLAD’s Civil Rights Project Director and a Maine resident said, “Winning marriage in Maine is profoundly important to those of us living here, including me and my family.  Now we can expect to see an outbreak of happiness, as couples – whether together for months or decades – can finally make that commitment to one another.  I am very proud of Mainers for sharing their concerns, hearing our stories and finding the common ground to vote yes.”

An initiative approved by the voters becomes effective 30 days after the Governor proclaims the results of the election.  The Governor’s proclamation can come up to 10 days after the Secretary of State completes tabulating the election results.  The Secretary has up to 20 days to complete those tabulations.  So the earliest that marriage licenses will be available to same sex couples will be 30-plus days and at most 60 days after the election.

GLAD salutes its coalition partners EqualityMaine, Maine Women’s Lobby, the American Civil Liberties Union of Maine, and EngageMaine, as well as national partner organizations Freedom to Marry, the Human Rights Campaign, and the Task Force.

The road to marriage equality began 6 years ago with a coalition decision to proceed with public education efforts and marriage legislation. In 2009, Maine became the first state to pass marriage equality legislation and have it signed by a governor.  The victory was rescinded in November 2009 when voters approved a ballot question vetoing that law before it went into effect.  The coalition regrouped, ran a two-year public education campaign, and decided in January 2012 to proceed directly to ballot.

Marriage equality has been won in other states through courts (Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa) and through legislatures (the District of Columbia, New Hampshire, Vermont, and New York).  GLAD brought the ground-breaking Massachusetts lawsuit, 古德里奇訴公共衛生部, as well as the Connecticut lawsuit 克里根訴公共衛生部.

Mainers who have questions about when and how they can marry, can contact GLAD’s Legal InfoLine at 1-800-455-GLAD or gladlaw@glad.org.

Mainers have said YES to marriage equality and soon all Mainers will be able to marry the person they love.

“Tonight we are thrilled, grateful, and humbled,” says Lee Swislow, GLAD’s Executive Director.  “We give our heartfelt congratulations and thanks to the people of Maine for listening with open hearts and minds, and embracing equality for gay and lesbian citizens. Mainers United for Marriage ran a superb campaign, and I can’t praise all of the campaign staff and volunteers enough.”

Mary L. Bonauto, GLAD’s Civil Rights Project Director and a Maine resident adds, “Winning marriage in Maine is profoundly important to those of us living here, including me and my family.  Now we can expect to see an outbreak of happiness, as couples – whether together for months or decades – can finally make that commitment to one another.  I am very proud of Mainers for sharing their concerns, hearing our stories and finding the common ground to vote yes.”

An initiative approved by the voters becomes effective 30 days after the Governor proclaims the results of the election.  The Governor’s proclamation can come up to 10 days after the Secretary of State completes tabulating the election results.  The Secretary has up to 20 days to complete those tabulations.  So the earliest that marriage licenses will be available to same sex couples will be 30-plus days and at most 60 days after the election.

GLAD salutes its coalition partners EqualityMaine, Maine Women’s Lobby, the American Civil Liberties Union of Maine, and EngageMaine, as well as national partner organizations Freedom to Marry, the Human Rights Campaign, and the Task Force.

The road to marriage equality began 6 years ago with a coalition decision to proceed with public education efforts and marriage legislation. In 2009, Maine became the first state to pass marriage equality legislation and have it signed by a governor.  The victory was rescinded in November 2009 when voters approved a ballot question vetoing that law before it went into effect.  The coalition regrouped, ran a two-year public education campaign, and decided in January 2012 to proceed directly to ballot.

Mainers who have questions about when and how they can marry, can contact GLAD’s Legal InfoLine at 1-800-455-GLAD or www.gladlaw.org/rights.