Sunday second collection boosts Maine marriage restoration campaign
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Portland, Maine, Sep 14, 2009 / 11:13 pm (CNA).- Seeking to support a campaign to restore the definition of marriage to a union only between a man and a woman, the Catholic Diocese of Portland asked parishioners to donate to the campaign in a second collection on Sunday.

Officials said the donations will help pay for television ads aiming to overturn a state law legislators passed last spring recognizing same-sex unions as “marriages,” ABC affiliate WMTW News 8 reports.

Parishioner Jane Roy said she hoped marriage can go back to “the tradition as it was.”

“Marriage should be between a man and a woman, at least in the state that I live in.”

Outside the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, where a second collection was held on Sunday, two former nuns from a group called “Catholics for Marriage Equality” said they were disappointed by the second collections.

Fr. Louis Phillip, explaining the collection, said that marriage “pre-dates government.”

“Since the beginning of time, marriage has been understood by people of every faith and culture to be the union of a man and a woman.”

Marc Mutty, director of Stand for Marriage Maine, said 140 churches across the state took a second collection on Sunday. He reported that the churches could have raised as much as $100,000 to $300,000.

"We don't have endless resources and we are scrambling to put the resources together to fund our media buy," he explained.

Voters will decide whether to overturn the state law in a November 3.

CNA contacted Stand for Marriage Maine for comment but did not receive a response by publication time.

The Stand for Marriage Maine website is at http://standformarriagemaine.com

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Subscriber comments:
Published by: Andrew
Rhode Island 09/26/2009 07:53 AM EST
IRS Code 501(c)(3), which governs tax-exempt organizations, clearly forbids this: “In addition, it may not be an action organization, i.e., it may not attempt to influence legislation as a substantial part of its activities and it may not participate in any campaign activity for or against political candidates.”
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Published by: shadow_man
maine 09/18/2009 07:17 AM EST
The people who collected signatures in Maine to stop marriage equality did so by misleading people, lying, and using deception. These people who claim to be "right" or "moral" but then use evil, sinful, lying ways. Here's what one of my friends from Maine told me. Sadly "Stand for Marriage Maine" collected many signatures by misleading people to believe they would not be able to vote unless they "registered" with those who were collecting signatures. At the Old Port Festival a woman at the top of Exchange Street was collecting signatures for the vote to ban gay marriage, but she was promoting it as if you were registering to vote. She said "Are you registered votes in Maine would you like to register here?" It was one sentence, she didn’t pause. I asked what we were registering for and she said "To determine if marriage is between a man and a woman or a man and a man or whatever." Then came the best part, she said "Would you like to sign so you can vote?" As if I couldn’t vote if I didn’t sign. She wasn’t telling people that it was a petition to stop gay marriage by putting it to a vote, she was convincing people to sign thinking that they had to or they wouldn’t be allowed to vote. There was nothing that even indicated what or why people where to sign. It’s not about Gay Marriage, it’s about Hate and Control. The fact they collected signatures so quickly only proves they preyed on the elderly and ignorant.
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Published by: Herrmann
Portland, ME 09/17/2009 05:24 AM EST
Too bad the Catholic Church goes such great lenghts to destroy equality. Marriage equality: Vote No on 1!
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Published by: Huw Richardson
Buffalo, NY 09/16/2009 09:54 AM EST
Another reason why churches should be taxed on income and property.
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