Maine voters repealed a state law Tuesday that would have allowed same-sex couples to wed, dealing the gay rights movement a heartbreaking defeat in New England, the corner of the country most supportive of gay marriage.
Gay marriage has now lost in every single state -- 31 in all -- in which it has been put to a popular vote. Gay-rights activists had hoped to buck that trend in Maine -- known for its moderate, independent-minded electorate -- and mounted an energetic, well-financed campaign.
Maine rejects gay marriage law: Update
The vote tally in Maine today, while not complete and not official, suggests an effort to repeal the state’s newly passed marriage equality law has succeeded.
With 93 percent of the precincts reporting in as of 9:25 a.m., the “Yes” votes to repeal the law totaled 53 percent of the vote, while the “No” votes against repeal numbered 47 percent. The Bangor Daily News provided the tallies. The state’s Director of Elections, Melissa Packard, said her office would not report results publicly until they are certified –in about 20 days.
The apparent vote marks a significant defeat for marriage equality supporters, who were hoping to regain ground lost last year when voters in California narrowly approved Proposition 8 to amend the state constitution to ban gay marriage and undermine a court ruling that had enabled some 18,000 same-sex couples to marry in 2008. (The vote in that 2008 initiative was 52 percent for, 48 percent against.) It also appears to provide momentum to the anti-gay marriage movement, which is now attempting to stage an initiative against same-sex marriage in Washington, D.C., and which has a bill pending before the New Hampshire legislature to repeal a bill enacted there earlier this year.
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