Maine says 'no' to gay marriage on anniversary of Prop 8

November 4, 2:37 AMInternational LGBT Issues ExaminerKelvin Lynch

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        A Yes on 1 ad in Maine (AP Photo)

On the first anniversary of the passage of Prop 8 in California, voters in Maine had the opportunity to make history by being the first state in the U.S. to vote in favor of gay marriage.  Instead, a record high turnout voted in favor of a referendum banning gay marriage.

The passage of Referendum 1 by a slim 53% to 47% margin  repealed a measure approved by both chambers of the state legislature and signed into law by Governor John Baldacci this past May.  However, the new law never took effect because of conservative petitioners, so no same-gender marriages were ever performed in Maine.

Referendum 1 was heavily sponsored by out-of-state signature gatherers, most notably the National Organization for Marriage (NOM), lead by anti-gay crusader Maggie Gallagher.  The organization faces serious ethics charges related to the tactics it used to gather the signatures necessary to get Referendum 1 on the ballot.  NOM also faces ethics charges in other states.

The narrow margin by which the measure passed in Maine is telling, revealing a deep division among a razor-thin majority of its citizens on the issue of gay marriage. The outcome is eerily similar to the Proposition 8 gay marriage ban in California, which passed by a similarly tiny 52% to 48% margin one year ago.

But Referendum 1 is more troubling than Prop 8.  By voting in favor of Referendum 1, voters in Maine sent the implicit message that representative government is not a reality in the state.   A "Yes" vote essentially was a vote saying the state's legislature acted in a unilateral, tyrannical manner by approving gay marriage, against the will of the people.  Prop 8 was different, because it was a reaction to the California Supreme Court's ruling to legalize gay marriage.  No legislative action was involved, so there was no similar "uprising" against elected officials in California.

Gay marriage supporters refused to concede at the 11th hour, holding out hope that that the tide might turn as the final returns came in. They had been hoping Maine would become the first state to approve same-gender marriage at the ballot box. 

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