In the summer of 1996, a man from Maine named Sam Collins methodically beat and stabbed his wife Melissa to death. He claimed self-defense, but a jury found Collins guilty at his murder trial 2 years later.
In the 2 years between the murder and his trial, Collins got remarried. Yes, the man who brutally killed his wife was issued a marriage license by the State of Maine to give the marriage thing another try.
So what’s the relevance, you ask?
A bill that would allow same-sex marriage in Maine and recognize such unions from others states is quickly moving toward a public hearing before the Maine senate. Greg Kesich from the Portland Press Herald sums up the relavance quite nicely:
Any “no” vote should come with an explanation of the rational legal system that would deny a marriage license to a law-abiding and supportive same-sex couple – who may already own property and raise children together – but would give one to a man who murdered his last wife.
Since such a measure could also go before the voters of Maine, either sent directly by the Legislature or through a People’s Veto referendum campaign, it is a mental exercise that everyone should try to work through.
Democratic state senator Dennis Damon’s bill called “An Act to End Discrimination in Civil Marriage and Affirm Religious Freedoms” would overturn the “Defense of Marriage Act” and would include language to allow “two persons to marry.”
Will the bill pass? It seems silly to think that it wouldn’t pass. Honestly, what’s the issue? Marriage obviously isn’t such a sacred thing if murderers are allowed to do it.
But wait, this is homosexuality we’re talking about: a sin on a whole other level, apparently.
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Well, he wasn’t a convicted murderer when he got the second marriage license. There’s not enough information in the article – why did it take 2 years to find him guilty?