FALMOUTH — Gov. Angus King denounced violence and reaffirmed his support of gay rights Thursday night at a rally prompted by concern about the recent beating of a gay doctor.

“Violence under any guise is wrong,” said King, who urged leaders of the successful effort to repeal Maine’s gay rights law to make sure their supporters do not get the message that the outcome of the Feb. 10 referendum paves the way for harassment of homosexuals.

The governor pointed to the assassination of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin two years ago as an example of the violence that can take place when impressionable followers act on what they interpret as the beliefs of their leaders.

“You cannot unleash these dark forces and then disclaim responsibility,” King said, noting that there has been a rash of reports of incidents targeted at gay people since the referendum.

A standing-room crowd of about 200 packed the Falmouth Congregational Church for what organizers billed as a community speakout against fear and violence.

The meeting was near the spot where Dr. Charles Mitchell was attacked while jogging. Although police have found no evidence that the daylight attack was motivated by Mitchell’s sexual orientation, the van he was driving was decorated with gay symbols and investigators have not ruled out the possibility that he was the target of a hate crime.

The Portland psychiatrist, who suffered a concussion, facial injuries and a broken jaw, didn’t talk about the beating. Instead, he focused on the importance of rearing children so that they grow up to be kind and tolerant, not filled with hatred.

King said his commitment to a gay rights law in Maine remains unchanged, although he believes such legislation can only be passed with a referendum held during a general election.

The governor noted that 31 percent of Maine’s eligible voters turned out for last month’s vote and 51 percent of those voted in favor of repeal. “Sixteen percent of the eligible voters of Miane voted yes. My friends, that is not a mandate,” he said.

Urging that gay rights supporters step up their efforts to educate people on the issue, King cautioned against overreacting to last month’s repeal.

“We can’t hate back,” he said. “The people who voted `yes’ are not bad people.”

Jonathan Lee, executive director of the Maine Speakout Project that helped organize the meeting, said the attack on Mitchell — whatever its motivation — has stirred deep fears in the gay community.

“Many of us remember another Charlie, Charlie Howard, who in 1984 in Bangor was thrown over a bridge into the Kenduskeag River and drowned by a group of teen-age boys, simply because he was gay,” Lee said.