An Act To End Discrimination in Civil Marriage and Affirm Religious Freedom
Maine Legislature, Session 124, LD 1020
Committee: Judiciary
Sponsors: DAMON, PINGREE, ALFOND, BARTLETT, BLISS, BOWMAN, BRANNIGAN, GERZOFSKY, NUTTING, SULLIVAN, ADAMS, BEAUDOIN, BERRY, BLODGETT, CAIN, CAREY, COHEN, CONNOR, CROCKETT, DILL, EATON, EBERLE, EVES, FLEMINGS, GOODE, HARLOW, HASKELL, HINCK, HUNT, WALSH INNES, KAENRATH, LEGG, LOVEJOY, MARTIN, MORRISON, NELSON, O'BRIEN, PENDLETON, PEOPLES, PERCY, PERRY, PILON, PRATT, RUSSELL, SANBORN, SCHATZ, SMITH, SOCTOMAH, STEVENS, STRANG BURGESS, STUCKEY, TREAT, TRINWARD, VALENTINO, WAGNER, WATSON, WEBSTER, WELSH
Amends: 19-A MRSA §650, 19-A MRSA §651

MAINE STATE LEGISLATURE 
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124th MAINE LEGISLATU 
Legislative Document 
No. 1020 
S.P.384 
, In Senate, March 17, 2009 
An Act To End Discrimination in Civil Marriage and Affirm 
Religious Freedom 
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Reference to the Committee on Judiciary suggested and ordered printed. 
Presented by Senator DAMON of Hancock. 
Cosponsored by Speaker PINGREE of North Haven and 
9tf)(Y~ 
JOY J. O'BRIEN 
Secretary of the Senate 
Senators: ALFOND of Cumberland, BARTLETT of Cumberland, BLISS of Cumberland, BOWMAN of York, 
BRANNIGAN of Cumberland, GERZOFSKY of Cumberland, NUTTING of Androscoggin, SULLIVAN of 
York, Representatives: ADAMS of Portland, BEAUDOIN of Biddeford, BERRY of Bowdoinham, BLODGETT 
of Augusta, Bl!TTERFIELD of Bangor, CAIN of Orono, CAREY of Lewiston, COHEN of Portland, CONNOR 
of Kennebunk, CORNELL du HOUX of Brunswick, CROCKETT of Augusta, DILL of Cape Elizabeth, EATON 
of Sullivan, EBERLE of South Portland, EVES of North Berwick, FLEMINGS of Bar Harbor, GOODE of 
Bangor, HARLOW of Portland, HASKELL of Portland, HINCK of Portland, HUNT of Buxton, WALSH INNES 
of Yarmouth, KAENRATH of South Portland, LEGG of Kennebunk, LOVEJOY of Portland, MacDONALD of 
Boothbay, MARTIN of Orono, McCABE of Skowhegan, MITCHELL ofthe Penobscot Nation, MORRISON of 
South Portland, NELSON of Falmouth, O'BRIEN of Lincolnville, PENDLETON of Scarborough, PEOPLES of 
Westbrook, PERCY of Phippsburg, PERRY of Calais, PILON of Sa co, PRATT of Eddington, PRIEST of' 
Brunswick, RUSSELL of Portland, SANBORN of Gorham, SCHATZ of Blue Hill, SMITH of Monmouth, 
SOCTOMAH of the Passamaquoddy Tribe, STEVENS of Bangor, STRANG BURGESS of Cumberland, 
STUCKEY of Portland, TREAT of Hallowell, TRINWARD of Waterville, VALENTINO of Sa co, WAGNER of 
Lewiston, WATSON of Bath, WEBSTER of Freeport, WELSH of Rockport, 
Printed on recy~led paper 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1. 19-A MRS A §650, as enacted by PL 1997, c. 65, §2, is repealed. 
Sec. 2. 19-A MRS A §650-A is enacted to read: 
§650-A. Codification of marriage. 
Marriage is the legally recognized union of 2 people. Gender-specific tenns relating 
to the marital relationship or familial relationships, including, but not limited to, 
"spouse," "family," "marriage," "inunediate family," "dependent," "next of kin," "bride," 
"groom," "husband," "wife," "widow" and "widower," must be construed to be gender-
neutral for all purposes throughout the law, whether in the context of statute, 
administrative or court rule, policy, common law or any other source of civil law. 
Sec. 3. 19-A MRSA §650~B is enacted to read: 
§650-B. Recognition of marriage licensed and certified in another jurisdiction 
A marriage of a same-sex couple that is validly licensed and certified in another 
jurisdiction is recognized for all purposes under the laws of this State. 
Sec. 4. 19-A MRSA §651, sub-§2, as amended by PL 1997, c. 537, §12 and 
affected by §62, is further amended to read: 
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2. Application. The parties wishing to record notice of their intentions of marriage 
shall submit an application for recording notice of their intentions of marriage. The 
application may be issued to any 2 persons otherwise qualified undertlus chapter 
regardless of the sex of each person. The application must include a signed certification 
that the infonnation recorded on the application is correct and that the applicant is free to 
marry according to the laws of this State. 
The applicant's signature must be 
acknowledged before an official authorized to take oaths. Applications recording notice 
of intentions to marry must be open for public inspection in the office of the clerk. When 
the application is submitted, the applicant shall provide the clerk with the social security 
numb,ers of the parties. The application must include a statement that the social security 
numbers of the parties have been provided to the clerk. The clerk shall record the social 
security numbers provided by each applicant. The record of the social security numbers 
is confidential and is not open for public inspection. 
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Sec. 5. 19~A MRSA §655, sub-§3 is enacted to read: 
3. . Affirmation of religious freedom. This Part does not authorize any court or 
other state or local govenunental body, entity, agency or commission to compel, prevent 
or interfere in any way with any religious institution's religious doctrine, policy, teaching 
or solemnization of marriage within that particular religious faith's tradition as guaranteed 
by the Maine Constitution, Article 1, Section 3 or the First Amendment of the United 
States Constitution. A person authorized to join persons iIi maniage and who fails or 
refuses to join persons in marriage is not subject to any fine or other penalty for such 
failure or refusal. 
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Sec. 6. 19-A MRS A §701, as amended by PL 2007, c. 695, Pt. C, §4, is further 
amended to read: 
§701. Prohibited marriages; exceptions 
1. Marriage out of State to evade lay... ,,"!,Then residents of this State, with intent to 
evade this section and to return and reside here, go into another stahl or country to have 
their marriage solemnized there and aftef\vards retu!'Il and reside here, that marriage is 
void in this State. 
I-A. Certain marriages performed in another state not recognized in this State. 
Any marriage performed in another state that would violate any provisions of subsections 
to ~ .1 if performed in this State is not recognized in this State and is considered void if 
the parties take up residence in this State. 
2. Prohibitions based on degrees of consanguinity; exceptions. This subsection 
governs marriage between relatives. 
A. 
A man may not marry his mother, grandmother; daughter, granddaughter, sister, 
brother's dmighter, sister's daughter, father's sister, mother's sister, the daughter of his 
father's brother or sister or the daughter of his mother's brother or sister. A Vloman 
may not marry her father, grandfather, son, grandson, brother, brother's son, sister's 
son, father's brother, mother's brother, the son of her father's brother or sister or the 
son of her mother's brother or sister person may not marry that person's parent, 
grandparent, child, grandchild. sibling. nephew, niece, aunt, uncle or first cousin. 
B. 
Notwithstanding paragraph A, a man person may marry the daughter of his 
father's brother or sister or the daughter of his mother's brother or sister, and a 'Noman 
may marry the son of her father's brother or sister or the son of her mother's brother 
or sister that person's first cousin as long as, pursuant to sections 651 and 652, the 
man or v:oman person provides the physician's certificate of genetic counseling. 
3. Persons under disability. A person who is impaired by reason of mental illness 
or mental retardation to the exterit that that person lacks sufficient understanding or 
capacity to make, communicate or implement responsible decisions concerning that 
person's property or person is not capable of contracting marriage. For the purposes of 
this section: 
A. 
"Mental illness" means a psychiatric or other disease that substantially impairs a 
person's mental health; and 
B. 
"Mental retardation" means a condition of significantly subaverage intellectual 
functioning resulting in or associated with concurrent impairments in adaptive 
behavior and manifested during the developmental period. 
4. Polygamy. A marriage contracted while either party has a living wife or husband 
from whom the party is not divorced is void. 
5. Same sex marriage prohibited. Persons of the same seK may not contraet 
marriage. 
SUMMARY 
This bill repeals the provision that limits marriage to one man and one woman and 
replaces it with the authorization for marriage between any 2 persons that meet the other 
requirements of Maine law. It also specifies that a marriage between 2 people of the 
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same sex in another state that is valid in that state is valid and must be recognized in this 
State. 
This bill also clarifies that the authorization of marriage between 2 people of the 
same sex does not compel any religious institution to alter its doctrine, policy or teaching 
regarding marriage or to solemnize any marriage in conflict with that doctrine, policy or 
teaching. It also specifies that a person authorized to join persons in marriage and who 
. fails or refuses to join persons in marriage is not subject to any fine or other penalty for 
such failure or refusal. 
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