Anti-gay rights drive could aid effort against slot machines

BANGOR – An effort to repeal the state’s gay rights law could boost a faltering bid to outlaw slot machines here, experts say, with the two conservative campaigns joining forces to gather the signatures needed to send both measures to referendum.

The Christian Civic League of Maine, the prime mover of the “people’s veto” effort to overturn the gay rights law, will make the anti-slots petitions available to its 600-plus volunteers, according to the league’s director, Michael Heath.

While acknowledging the informal partnership with the anti-slots group No Slots for ME!, Heath said Tuesday the gay rights legislation remained his group’s prime target, and he would not require volunteers to carry both petitions.

“People are taking [the slots petitions], but it’s obvious the circulators are focused on the people’s veto,” Heath said while en route to Belfast, where he was to hold another training session for signature gatherers. “While the [Christian Civic League of Maine] board is absolutely committed to the [anti-slots] effort, they are mindful to asking too much.”

Both groups need 50,519 verified signatures – 10 percent of voters in the 2002 governor’s race – to force a referendum on their respective issues.

Gay rights opponents must submit their signatures by June 28 to force a November 2005 referendum on gay rights. The anti-slots group already has missed its deadline for a vote this year, and now has until Sept. 28, 2005, to submit the signatures for a November 2006 referendum.

Doug Muir, a member of the No Slots for ME! steering committee, said Tuesday he hoped the League’s assistance would ease the difficulty his small anti-slots group has had thus far in collecting signatures throughout the state.

“This is a good opportunity for people to sign the petition who might not have seen it otherwise,” said Muir, whose group has concentrated its efforts in the state’s two southernmost counties. Muir said he wasn’t aware of any plans for his petitioners to assist the League in its effort to repeal the gay rights law.

Access to the League’s volunteers could prove beneficial to Muir’s group, according to one of the state’s most seasoned political pundits.

“It can make a huge difference when you have a willing work force,” said Christian Potholm, a professor of government at Bowdoin College.

The slots repeal effort has served as a quiet reminder of opposition to a proposed racetrack casino in Bangor, the only city eligible to host slots under the new law.

Officials at Penn National Gaming, who this week announced plans to open a temporary slots parlor on Main Street as soon as this fall, expressed frustration with the continued resistance form the state’s more conservative quarters.

“There are those who would like to see gaming go away … but the people have spoken quite clearly on this,” said Penn spokesman Eric Schippers, citing one statewide and two citywide votes approving the slots to benefit the harness racing industry. “We want to get down to business and bring jobs here.”

In a recent weekly newspaper column, Heath argued it’s that potential economic impact that prompted the Baldacci administration to advance the gay rights law this session. The law, Heath contends, was designed to prevent the league from focusing its full attention on repealing the slots law.

“The governor put a gay skirt on his Bangor slot machine palace hoping to once again divert the attention of the good people of Maine,” Heath wrote.

Heath’s argument elicited a quizzical response from the governor’s spokesman.

“Mr. Heath appears to be a man of God. He also appears to be a man of remarkable imagination,” said Baldacci spokesman Lynn Kippax. “In this case, he’s dead wrong.”

So is the effort to scuttle the Bangor slots proposal, said Rep. Pat Blanchette, D-Bangor. Blanchette said the effort was just another example of southern Maine trying to dictate the north’s agenda.

“If these people in southern Maine are so upset about gambling, why don’t they form a support group for each other and leave us alone?” she said.