Maine's legislature initiated, without court order, the right for same-sex couples to marry. Before the law's effective date, opponents got an injunction and filed petitions to put it to a voter referendum.
On Tuesday, that law was overturned by 53% of the voters. It would have been the first state in which voters approved gay marriage without a prior court order, and it would have completed the New England sweep of states that allow it, with New York and New Jersey likely to follow soon.
Unfortunately, out of state opponents, including the Catholic church and Maggie Gallagher's National Organization for Marriage, poured money into the state along with local organizations that mounted the usual disinformation and scare campaign ("teaching gay marriage to school children" was their scare tactic).
It is a set-back, but who would have ever thought, just a few years ago, that we would have even considered it had a chance? And here we almost won. Changing attitudes is hard, and it is an evolving process that takes time. This is but a blip.
Ralph
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