No Gay Marriage In Maine

International News, By Christian Taylor, 5th November, 2009

On Tuesday, voters in the American state of Maine voted against a law which would have permitted same-sex marriage.

CNN report that the margin was close – with 87% of the vote counted early Wednesday, the same-sex marriage law was rejected 53% to 47%, according to the Bangor Daily News Web site.

“It has all come together tonight, the institution of marriage has been preserved in Maine and across this nation,” said Frank Schubert, the campaign manager of Yes on 1/Stand for Marriage Maine, on Tuesday night.

But it’s not all doom and gloom. Mary Bonauto, a spokesperson for Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD), told CNN that it’s worth noting that 47% of voters were in favour of gay marriage. She also spoke of her pride in the 8,000 volunteers who supported the gay marriage push, many of whom weren’t even gay.

“They took this issue on… thought about their families and our families… Boy, there’s nothing like it… Somebody else is standing in your shoes… That just gives me enormous optimism about the future.”

Scott Fish, a spokesman for Stand for Marriage Maine, said that the campaign wasn’t anti-gay, it was about protecting traditional marriage, and that many feel the legal inequalities could be dealt with through lawmaking, not by altering the definition of marriage.

According to NPR.org.au, Jesse Connolly, campaign manager of Protect Maine Equality, believes that same-sex marriage opponents deceived voters by implying that gay marriage and homosexuality would be advocated and taught in public schools, despite the fact that Maine’s attorney general and education commissioner said that there was nothing in the law that related to this.

Maine’s Gov. John Baldacci said that the gay marriage issue doesn’t stop here.

“We may not get there as soon as I’d like to get there,” Baldacci was quoted as saying on NPR. “But we’re going to get there because that’s the future.”

31 states have now rejected same-sex marriage by referendum.