Maine Senate passes same-sex marriage bill News
Maine Senate passes same-sex marriage bill

[JURIST] The Maine Senate [official website] voted 21-14 in favor of a bill [text] that would allow same-sex marriage [JURIST news archive] in the state. The vote split mainly along party lines, with only one Democrat voting against the measure. The bill will now go before the Maine House of Representatives [official website] on Tuesday, where it is expected to pass [NYT report]. The bill would then go before Governor John Baldacci, who has yet to take a public position [Bangor Daily News report] on the issue.

The vote came one day after the New Hampshire Senate [official website] voted 13-11 to approve [JURIST report] a bill [HB 436 text] permitting same-sex marriage. The New Hampshire House of Representatives [official website] approved the bill [JURIST report] in March by a vote of 186-179. Last month, Vermont became the fourth state to legalize same-sex marriage, joining Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Iowa [JURIST reports].

THIS DAY @ LAW

Georgia became first US state to ban lynching

On December 20, 1893, Georgia became the first state in the Union to pass a law against lynching, making the act punishable by four years in prison. The statute was not particularly effective—read the text of the 1899 pamphlet Lynch Law in Georgia by anti-lynching activist Ida Wells-Barnett.