RBP
11-08-2012, 01:53 AM
Voters in Maine and Maryland approved same-sex marriage on an election night that jubilant gay rights advocates called a historic turning point, the first time that marriage for gay men and lesbians has been approved at the ballot box.
While six states and the District of Columbia have legalized same-sex marriage through court decisions or legislative decisions, voters had rejected it more than 30 times in a row.
Results for the other two states voting on same-sex marriage, Minnesota and Washington, were still coming in late Tuesday, but rights groups said that the victories in two states and possibly more were an important sign that public opinion was shifting in their direction.
“We have made history for marriage equality by winning our first victory at the ballot box,” said Chad Griffin, the president of the Human Rights Campaign, which raised millions of dollars for the races in the four states.
Matt McTighe, the campaign manager for Mainers United for Marriage, said, “A lot of families in Maine just became more stable and secure.”
At a victory party in Baltimore, supporters of Maryland’s referendum danced and cheered as balloons filled the air. “I’m so elated right now,” said Mary Bruce Leigh, 32. “This is the civil rights issue of our time, and we have succeeded in Maryland.”
In what appeared to be a close race in Minnesota, voters were asked to adopt a constitutional amendment limiting marriage to a man and a woman. While the state already has a law barring same-sex marriage, conservatives hoped to prevent a future Legislature or court decision from reversing it.
In Washington State, supporters of a referendum authorizing same-sex marriage appeared to have an edge in pre-election polls, but final results were not expected until later this week because ballots were still being mailed in as late as Tuesday.
Laurie Carlsson, 33, stood on a freeway overpass with a sign urging drivers to honk for the referendum.
“Seattleites do not use their horns — ever — but today they’re honking,” Ms. Carlsson said as a deafening roar erupted. “It’s making me giddy.”
It has been a constant theme of opponents of same-sex marriage that whenever it has been put before voters it has lost. In 30 states, voters have limited marriage to a man and a woman through constitutional amendments, and same-sex marriage has also been blocked in referendums like those in California in 2008 and Maine in 2009.
This year, the legislatures in Washington and Maryland approved same-sex marriage, but opponents gathered enough signatures to force referendums. In Maine, since their loss in 2009, gay rights advocates have been cultivating public opinion in one-on-one conversations, and this year sponsored their successful repeat election.
In the final week of the campaign, the opponents of marriage rights, mainly financed by the National Organization for Marriage and the Roman Catholic Church, mounted a barrage of advertising and telephone appeals in all four states, trying to convince undecided voters that “redefining marriage” would force schools to “teach gay marriage” and require businesses and churches to violate religious principles.
Rights groups have denounced those messages as misleading scare tactics and say they do not seek to redefine marriage but to end discrimination.
For many weeks, reflecting their more than threefold advantage in fund-raising nationwide, advocates of same-sex marriage have unleashed advertisements of their own in which community members say that gay and lesbian friends deserve the same chance to love and marry that others enjoy.
Pre-election polling in Washington State indicated that a slight majority of voters supported the referendum. “We have weathered their waves of attacks and not lost any ground,” said Zach Silk, the campaign manager of Washington United for Marriage, in an interview before the voting began.
Frank Schubert, who managed the campaigns to ban same-sex marriage in all four states, disputed the notion that Tuesday’s ballots were a major turning point. “The votes are very close everywhere,” he said.
While six states and the District of Columbia have legalized same-sex marriage through court decisions or legislative decisions, voters had rejected it more than 30 times in a row.
Results for the other two states voting on same-sex marriage, Minnesota and Washington, were still coming in late Tuesday, but rights groups said that the victories in two states and possibly more were an important sign that public opinion was shifting in their direction.
“We have made history for marriage equality by winning our first victory at the ballot box,” said Chad Griffin, the president of the Human Rights Campaign, which raised millions of dollars for the races in the four states.
Matt McTighe, the campaign manager for Mainers United for Marriage, said, “A lot of families in Maine just became more stable and secure.”
At a victory party in Baltimore, supporters of Maryland’s referendum danced and cheered as balloons filled the air. “I’m so elated right now,” said Mary Bruce Leigh, 32. “This is the civil rights issue of our time, and we have succeeded in Maryland.”
In what appeared to be a close race in Minnesota, voters were asked to adopt a constitutional amendment limiting marriage to a man and a woman. While the state already has a law barring same-sex marriage, conservatives hoped to prevent a future Legislature or court decision from reversing it.
In Washington State, supporters of a referendum authorizing same-sex marriage appeared to have an edge in pre-election polls, but final results were not expected until later this week because ballots were still being mailed in as late as Tuesday.
Laurie Carlsson, 33, stood on a freeway overpass with a sign urging drivers to honk for the referendum.
“Seattleites do not use their horns — ever — but today they’re honking,” Ms. Carlsson said as a deafening roar erupted. “It’s making me giddy.”
It has been a constant theme of opponents of same-sex marriage that whenever it has been put before voters it has lost. In 30 states, voters have limited marriage to a man and a woman through constitutional amendments, and same-sex marriage has also been blocked in referendums like those in California in 2008 and Maine in 2009.
This year, the legislatures in Washington and Maryland approved same-sex marriage, but opponents gathered enough signatures to force referendums. In Maine, since their loss in 2009, gay rights advocates have been cultivating public opinion in one-on-one conversations, and this year sponsored their successful repeat election.
In the final week of the campaign, the opponents of marriage rights, mainly financed by the National Organization for Marriage and the Roman Catholic Church, mounted a barrage of advertising and telephone appeals in all four states, trying to convince undecided voters that “redefining marriage” would force schools to “teach gay marriage” and require businesses and churches to violate religious principles.
Rights groups have denounced those messages as misleading scare tactics and say they do not seek to redefine marriage but to end discrimination.
For many weeks, reflecting their more than threefold advantage in fund-raising nationwide, advocates of same-sex marriage have unleashed advertisements of their own in which community members say that gay and lesbian friends deserve the same chance to love and marry that others enjoy.
Pre-election polling in Washington State indicated that a slight majority of voters supported the referendum. “We have weathered their waves of attacks and not lost any ground,” said Zach Silk, the campaign manager of Washington United for Marriage, in an interview before the voting began.
Frank Schubert, who managed the campaigns to ban same-sex marriage in all four states, disputed the notion that Tuesday’s ballots were a major turning point. “The votes are very close everywhere,” he said.