The US state of Maine voted against same-sex marriage in a referendum on Tuesday. It is the latest state to vote against same-sex marriage, after California, Florida and Arizona did so last year.
A ballot initiative to reject the legislature’s move to legalise same-sex marriage won 53 per cent of the vote. Same-sex marriage has now been defeated in every US state, 31 in all, in which it has gone to the people.
The result was welcomed by the Bishop of Portland, Richard Malone, who said the campaign had “served as a teaching opportunity to explain to parishioners and the wider community about how and why the Church views and values marriage as the union of one man and one woman”.
The Diocese of Portland, which is in Main, conducted a collection to raise money for pro-marriage campaigners in September.
“The institution of marriage has been preserved in Maine and across the nation,” said Frank Schubert, the chief organiser for Stand for Marriage Maine, which lobbied for the repeal.
Currently, Maine’s marriage law says: “..the State has a compelling interest to nurture and promote the unique institution of traditional monogamous marriage in the support of harmonious families and the physical and mental health of children”.
It was a significant defeat for same-sex marriage campaigners, who have gained a foothold in liberal New England.
Five states have legalised gay marriage – Iowa, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire and Connecticut – but all did so through legislation or court rulings, not by popular vote.
Massachusetts became the first state to permit marriage by same-sex couples in 2004. Connecticut followed in 2008. And Iowa, Vermont and New Hampshire all legalised the unions this year. New York and the District of Columbia recognise same-sex marriages performed in other states but do not grant them.
National same-sex campaigners blamed ‘scare-mongering’ ads — and President Barack Obama’s lack of engagement — for a bitter election setback in Maine that could alter the dynamics for both sides in the gay-marriage debate.
Conservatives, in contrast, celebrated Maine voters’ rejection of same-sex marriage, depicting it as a warning shot that should deter politicians in other states from pushing for similar measures elsewhere.
“Every time the citizens have voted on marriage, they have always sided with natural marriage,” said Mathew Staver, founder of Liberty Counsel, a Florida-based Christian legal group. “Maine dramatically illustrates the will of the people, and politicians should wake up and listen.”
Homosexual activists were frustrated that Obama, who insists he staunchly supports their agenda, didn’t speak out forcefully in defense of Maine’s marriage law before Tuesday’s referendum.
“President Obama missed an opportunity to state his position against these discriminatory attacks with the clarity and moral imperative that would have helped in this close fight,” said Evan Wolfson of the national advocacy group Freedom to Marry.
“The anti-gay forces are throwing millions of dollars into various unsubtle ads aimed at scaring people, so subtle statements from the White House are not enough.”
While millions were spent by those campaigning for traditional marriage, they were outspent two to one by those campaigning for same-sex marriage.
The White House, asked about the criticism, had no immediate comment. Obama has previously said that he believes marriage should be between a man and a woman.
The marriage debate is simmering in at least a half-dozen states where a same-sex marriage bill is pending or where a court ruling or existing law is being eyed by conservatives for possible challenge.
