''I remember that 40 years ago, Even people in Maine told us it was wrong to get married: 'Blacks and whites should never marry.' People say the same thing now about gay and lesbian couples.... It was wrong 40 years ago, it is wrong now!''

Bob Talbot, a member of the NAACP who is reportedly part of an interracial marriage and spoke before some 4,000 people at a public debate held at the Augusta, Maine civic center. (WABI) (Boston Globe)

''Parenting which we have known for all of history will no longer exist. Now I know I'm simply a farm boy from central Maine, but I learned many years ago that children don't happen without a mom and without a dad.''

Phil Curtis, a Maine state representative who stood behind the podium labeled ''Opponents'' to a new bill designed to legalize same-sex marriage. (WABI)