EqualityMaine
Encyclopedia
EqualityMaine is a political advocacy organization in Maine
, United States
. Founded in 1984 after the murder of Charlie Howard
, it is the oldest and largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT
) organization in the state. In 2008, they were a primary opponent of an attempt to revoke an anti-discrimination law in Maine. In 2009, EqualityMaine was one of the main supporters of a push to recognize same-sex marriage in Maine
.
EqualityMaine's executive director is Betsy Smith and the organization claims an annual budget of about half a million dollars a year.
On June 30, 2011, EqualityMaine and Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) announced plans to place a voter initiative in support of same-sex marriage on the state's November 2012 ballot.
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Founded in 1984 after the murder of Charlie Howard
Charlie Howard (murder victim)
Charles O. Howard was an American hate-crime victim in Bangor, Maine in 1984. As Howard and a male companion, Roy Ogden, were walking down the street, three teenagers, Shawn I. Mabry, age 16, James Francis Baines, age 15, and Daniel Ness, age 17, harassed Howard for being gay...
, it is the oldest and largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
) organization in the state. In 2008, they were a primary opponent of an attempt to revoke an anti-discrimination law in Maine. In 2009, EqualityMaine was one of the main supporters of a push to recognize same-sex marriage in Maine
Same-sex marriage in Maine
Same-sex marriage in Maine is currently unrecognized. A bill to allow same-sex marriages in Maine was signed into law on May 6, 2009, by Governor Baldacci following legislative approval, but opponents successfully petitioned for a referendum on the issue, putting the law on hold before it went into...
.
EqualityMaine's executive director is Betsy Smith and the organization claims an annual budget of about half a million dollars a year.
On June 30, 2011, EqualityMaine and Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) announced plans to place a voter initiative in support of same-sex marriage on the state's November 2012 ballot.