Why Gay Marriage Failed in Maine

Here is a very interesting overview of how, and why, the people in Maine voted down their legislature’s effort to legalize “gay marriage.” I put the words “gay marriage” in quotes because there is nothing “gay” or “marriage” about so-called gay marriage. Here is the link to the full story, and here is a snippet:

We all knew we were the little guy going up against the big guy, but we prevailed. We prevailed because the people of Maine—the silent majority, the folks back home—spoke with their votes,” Mutty said, according to the Bangor Daily News. Connolly ruefully agreed, explaining in a column for the Huffington Post: “It’s clear that polling research, both ours and others’, did not capture the intensity of Yes on 1 support…. We weren’t alone: our opponents, political observers, and field operatives all believed a high turnout benefited the No on 1 vote. With voting approaching 60 percent in Maine, it’s clear that wasn’t true.” Some gay marriage backers lashed out in anger. “In the future those who oppose gay marriage now will appear as ignorant, mean, and foolish as those who opposed interracial marriage 50 year ago,” wrote Michael Stone in the Portland Progressive Examiner. But others openly wondered if the gay marriage crusade was worth it. “Throughout this and other gay-marriage campaigns, some queer activists have expressed their own discomfort about feeling obligated to fight for an institution about which they feel ambivalent while other essential battles—against HIV/AIDS, homelessness, domestic violence, and general discrimination—struggle for money and media attention,” wrote Deirdre Fulton in the Portland Phoenix.