About 4,000 gave up their day Wednesday for a public hearing at the Augusta Civic Center to discuss same-sex marriage bill in Maine. Thousands of proponents came out in red shirts to voice their opinions in support of a gay marriage bill.

The hearing lasted all day and was highlighted by Trenton Sen. Dennis Damon, the author of the bill (LD 1020) who stated that it "recognizes the worth of every man and woman among us." wmtw.com Opponents wore buttons stating: "marriage is not broken and does not need fixing." Maybe they haven't seen the memo or heard of Brittney Spears or even Rudy Giuliani. Now the bill heads to the Legislature's Joint Standing Committee on Judiciary who will take their recommendations to the legislature.

The future of the bill, which has more than 60 sponsors, is uncertain. Gov. John Baldacci, a Democrat, had opposed same-sex marriage, but now says he is keeping his options open. The Legislature, where Democrats control both houses, can pass or reject the measure, or send it to the voters for a referendum. If the Legislature passes the bill, citizens can collect enough signatures to place a people’s veto of the legislation on the November ballot. - New York Times

They've got a long way to go, but today was a positive start.