Today I write this blog post from the Maine House of Representatives gallery. It is quite an experience to see the legislative process; and as a side note, I would encourage everyone to take the opportunity to visit the statehouse and see it for one’s self. I think for many people the connection between laws and the people are very removed from one another. Spending the day listening to the testimony and statements from members of both the House and the Senate, it becomes clear how close the two are intertwined.
Today, the ACLU of MAINE is here in Augusta to oppose a bill that would repeal Maine’s same-day voter registration law – essentially disenfranchising potential voters across the state, and also to oppose a bill that would block young people from accessing mental health and substance abuse counseling without their parent’s consent.
Unfortunately, because of disputes over other issues, they may get pushed over until tomorrow. On the other hand, maybe it isn’t so unfortunate. Perhaps another nights sleep will give our legislators the time that they need to read over the information on voting accessibility that they have received from not only the ACLU of MAINE, but also EqualityMaine, AARP, Disability Rights Center, Homeless Voices for Justice, the League of Women Voters, the League of Young Voters, the Maine People’s Alliance, Maine Women’s Lobby, and Preble Street Resource Center. It is a long list of groups that recognize the dire effects that this bill would have on the citizens of Maine. For more information read Shenna's editorial in this weeks Bangor Daily News.
The same goes for parental consent for mental health and substance abuse counseling. I would personally rather have the vote postponed until tomorrow instead of rushed through today, if that means that our legislators have just a few more hours to consider the young people that would be negatively effected and potentially very seriously harmed by this bill. For some more information, see the editorial written recently by the Portland Press Herald.
Stay tuned tomorrow as well. In addition to these two bills, the legislature will likely be voting on the anti-choice bills that have made their way up to the statehouse. For more information on these bills see the Family Planning Association of Maine's Policy Action Center.
