The Christian Civic League of Maine is like the Energizer bunny -- except that it's not amusing.

Like the bunny, it keeps going and going and going.

Just when we thought the world, or at least Maine, was safe from another bigoted campaign against gay men and women, the League is launching a new referendum effort to repeal every law providing protection to people who have long faced discrimination.

It's amazing how much fear and hatred the League managed to pack into one proposed referendum.

Step-by-step, over many years, Maine has provided some legal protection for gays and lesbians whose offense, if any, involves love, not hate. There is no evidence that these laws have harmed anyone or promoted any kind of sexual behavior.

If this self-righteous crew, led by chief bunny Michael Heath, has its way, Mainers will repeal a law that prohibits discrimination against gays in housing, employment, credit, public accommodations and education.

I guess it's both Christian and civic to fire someone because you don't approve of what he or she does behind closed doors at home.

The League also wants to end a successful state program that teaches public school students about the human rights act -- not just as it applies to gays, but also as it relates to women, racial or religious minorities, or anyone else who might be subjected to bullying or harassment at school. In the League's special world, bullying is less a problem than the possibility that students, who set up school civil rights teams, might help educate their peers about tolerance.

"Every student has the absolute right to attend school where they feel safe," said Maine Attorney General Steve Rowe, whose office directs the program, which is being used successfully in 220 schools.

"I know, sadly, there is a great deal of bias-motivated behavior directed at students in school who are gay or who are perceived to be gay," Rowe told Blethen Maine Newspapers last week.

Heath, from his odd -- is it really civic? -- perspective, has opposed these civil rights teams for years, arguing that they promote gay lifestyles, whatever that may be. Despite these fears, there is no evidence that the school teams promote anything other than respect for all students, including those who may be gay, or female, or have long hair, or dress strangely. I doubt that Heath approves of school bullies but doing away with these teams would send a message that it's OK to gang up on kids who are different.

While these areas are included in the proposed referendum, they are not the League's greatest fear or the major focus of the latest attack. That concern is the prospect that someday, perhaps, Mainers might approve gay marriage.

The referendum asks voters if they want to "protect traditional marriage and eliminate special rights in Maine law."

Talk about buzzwords!

The referendum would limit marriage to one man and one woman, would allow only one person or a married couple to adopt children and prohibit establishment of civil unions.

The adoption clause would overturn a court ruling that has allowed unmarried couples, gay or straight, to adopt. In the League's odd view of the world, it's immoral for two unmarried adults -- gay or straight -- to provide love and security for a child or for two men or two women who live and love together to have the legal protection civil unions provide.

The campaign against gay marriage is not surprising; it also is unnecessary. There is no effort under way to endorse gay marriage. The League may feel that raising that prospect -- and then rallying against it -- is the best way to stamp out the rights that actually do exist.

It also may be seen as a way to appeal to prospective new members to shore up an organization that has acknowledged it is in financial trouble. There's nothing like a spirited election campaign based on fears and prejudice to bring in a few bucks.

Sadly, there may be some strength in the League's strategy. Some people who have no objection to the live-and-let-live approach and the basic fairness of laws that prohibit discrimination against gays and lesbians have concerns about gay marriage. A shrewd anti-gay-marriage campaign may succeed with some of these people.

That concern, however, probably is not enough to reverse the trend toward fairness and equality in Maine, which has rejected well-financed efforts by the League to repeal past gay rights legislation.

The League must collect 55,087 signatures to place its referendum on the ballot.

Maine would be well served if people demonstrated that they are tired of this divisive issue by refusing to sign. Maybe that would make Energizer Mike and his League of bunnies return quietly to their hutch.

David B. Offer is the retired executive editor of the Kennebec Journal and the Morning Sentinel. E-mail davidboffer@hotmail.com.