CARNAL NATION

Philip Spooner is 86 years old and a lifetime Republican. He is a veteran of World War II, having fought on Omaha Beach on D-Day and assisting in the liberation of Paris in 1944. A decorated soldier, he saw the horrors of battle—not only on D-Day but also during the Battle of the Bulge, and he saw first-hand the inhumanity of Dachau and Buchenwald. He and his wife raised 4 sons, one of whom is gay.

While voting in a Maine election on whether or not to legalize same-sex marriage, he was asked by a woman at his polling place if he believed in equality for gays and lesbians. It was that question that led him to testify in April before a Maine Judiciary Committee meeting on gay marriage. In telling of this encounter at the polling place, he said, "I was pretty surprised to be asked a question like that. It made no sense to me. Finally I asked her: what do you think I fought for in Omaha Beach?” A video of his impassioned, heartfelt, and tearful testimony has been released on YouTube. His plea for same-sex marriage is eloquent in its simplicity: "I was raised to believe all men are created equal, and I have never forgotten that... It’s what this country was started for." Watch the moving video after the jump.

As Election Day draws near, a ballot proposal to repeal Maine's gay marriage law is one of the most watched campaigns in the nation. According to National Public Radio, polls show that the race is tight even though finance reports show that supporters of the repeal (i.e., those who want to end same-sex marriage) are trailing significantly in fundraising. Maine legalized same-sex marriage in May of 2009.