Rebukes

Maine Rejects Gay Marriage

Loss comes as a surprise.

One year after California rejected Proposition 8, gay marriage has once again failed to find popular approval: Voters in Maine opted on Tuesday to repeal legislature-approved gay marriage, 53 percent to 47 percent. The rebuke came as a surprise to marriage-equality activists: Protect Maine Equality had outraised its main rival by over $1 million, and Maine’s Democratic Governor John Baldacci was pleased in an earlier interview to announce “a lot of young people were showing up,” saying it looks like “the presidential election all over again.” Maine would have become the first state to approve gay marriage by the ballot box.