I have signed the petition to require a vote on the gay rights bill.Contrary to the opinion of several recent writers to the Bangor Daily News, I didn’t do it out of “hatefulness.” I signed it because I believe the gay rights bill is unnecessary and will do more harm than good.

As a lawyer, I have worked for gay clients.

As a landlord, I have rented to gay tenants.

As a weekend athlete, I have competed against gay runners, bikers and paddlers.

I was part owner of a restaurant with a substantial gay clientele.

I had a gay roommate in law school.

I have gay relatives.

I have gay friends.

If you interviewed every gay person I know, I don’t think a single one would say that I discriminated against them because of their sexual orientation.

If you interviewed every gay person in the state, I don’t think you would find very many who have been discriminated against because of their sexual orientation.

There are gays in the highest levels of state government. There are gay lawyers, doctors, teachers and businesspeople. There are gay entertainers, athletes, and celebrities.

Statistics indicate that gays earn more money than average. They live in the same neighborhoods, eat in the same restaurants, and stay in the same hotels as anyone else. They certainly have their proportionate share of influence in every aspect of daily living.

So, I ask, where is the discrimination? If anyone wanted to convince me that the gay rights bill is necessary, they should tell me about gays who have suffered actual discrimination. No one has done that, which leads me to believe there is not

much problem, if any.

Advocates of the gay rights law tell how restaurant owners could refuse to feed gays, or motel owners could refuse to let gays have rooms, or employers could refuse to

hire gays.

That is all true. What they don’t mention is that anyone could just as legally discriminate against left-handed people or people with tattoos or red hair. But who in his right mind would discriminate against any of these groups?

People in business want to do business, not find reasons to send away potential customers.

If the gay rights law stands, I have no doubt that it will become not just a shield against discrimination, but also a sword that causes discrimination against non-gays.

If, for example, there are three applicants for a job and one says that he is gay and wants the job, he will probably get it because the employer won’t want to defend a discrimination suit, and other candidates will lose out. If a gay goes into a crowded restaurant and says he wants a good table, he will probably get it promptly because the restaurant owner won’t want to be sued, and other people will wait in line.

If several people are trying to get an apartment, the one who says he is gay will probably be chosen as a tenant because the landlord won’t want legal problems and the others will have to continue searching.

That, in my way of thinking, is special rights.

Advocates of the gay rights law say that it isn’t a stepping stone to gay marriage. Perhaps not – it may be the destination of gay marriage. If it is illegal to discriminate against gays, how long will it be before a gay who wants to marry someone of the same sex finds a judge who agrees that denying that right by its legislature a judge found that the gay rights law prohibited discrimination, just as I suspect will soon happen in Maine.

A majority of Maine voters have said “no” to gay rights twice recently. The Legislature apparently fails to understand some part of “no.” No actual discrimination against gays is being reported; only the potential for discrimination against gays, just like the potential for discrimination against left-handers, tattoo-wearers, redheads, and every other group not named in the civil rights act.

Already the gay rights act has been divisive, with people on both sides of the issue calling anyone who disagrees with them hateful or something worse.

There is little actual discrimination against gays in Maine. If gay rights were established, they will be used to obtain special rights for gays, and will soon lead to gay marriage.

The fight over gay rights will be ugly. I wish the governor and Legislature hadn’t started it. Since they did, I feel obligated to oppose what I believe is a bad idea.

Lawrence E. Merrill is a Bangor attorney.