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By
Joseph Erbentraut
Gay activists shuddered last month when voters in Maine struck
down a law legalizing same-sex marriage. The law was passed earlier in the
year by the state's legislature.
The vote's outcome--52.8 percent for repealing same-sex marriage,
47.2 percent opposed--came as a sharp blow to gay activists who thought
the lessons learned from last fall's disappointing Proposition 8 battle
in California would have led to more success in the Pine Tree State.
Gays around the US are scratching their heads, wondering what
went wrong.
"Hundreds of thousands of Maine voters stood for equality, but in
the end, it wasn't enough," said Jesse Connolly, campaign manager of No
on 1/Protect Maine Equality. "I am proud of the thousands of Mainers
who knocked on doors, made phone calls and talked to their families,
friends and neighbors about the basic premise of treating all Maine
families equally."
Conservative groups were bolstered by their win, particularly
since gay groups raised nearly twice the money for the campaign as they
did.
"We prevailed because the people of Maine, the silent majority,
the folks back home, spoke with their vote," said Marc Mutty, Yes on 1
campaign spokesman.
The decision means that in more than 30 votes statewide, voters
nixed same-sex marriage.
"This victory interrupts the cultural narrative being
manufactured that somehow American opinion is shifting on the gay
marriage issue," said Maggie Gallagher, president of the National
Organization for Marriage. "Instead, it makes it clear that if gay
marriage advocates cannot win in Maine, they cannot win anywhere."
Many activists placed the blame on President Barack Obama for not
doing enough to help gays. They said Obama should have stepped in when
anti-gay forces released ads claiming legalizing same-sex marriage
would mean gay sex would have to be discussed in public schools.
"Obama and his team were zero help in this critical battle and in
the last week might actually have hurt us. That is a fact," said
activist David Mixner. "Despite repeated pleas for assistance for this
community from the start of the campaign, he chose to ignore every
opportunity to grant us such relief."
Author Dan Savage said Obama and the Democratic National
Committee were AWOL in the Maine marriage battle.
"President Obama is a fierce advocate of gay rights the same way
I'm a ladies man. He isn't and I'm not," Savage said. "We're very
disappointed with Obama. He could have really made a difference in
Maine, perhaps a decisive one, if he was willing to engage in the type
of fierce advocacy he promised the gay community."
Others claimed the DNC sent a mass emails to Maine residents,
urging them to vote but not asking them to reject the effort to repeal
same-sex marriage. According to activist John Aravosis, the message
instead suggested recipients help re-elect New Jersey Governor Jon
Corzine.
While the DNC originally denied the claim, it later admitted the
omission. DNC Treasurer Andy Tobias, who is openly gay, apologized,
even though he said he doubted it would have made much impact.
The loss in Maine also led many gay activists to further question
the movement's focus on state-to-state battles instead of a coordinated
nationwide approach.
"Maine's reversal on marriage equality proves once again the
bankruptcy of the state-by-state, issue-by-issue strategy upheld by
many establishment LGBT forces," said activist and author Sherry Wolf.
She noted that if same-sex marriage were upheld in Maine, the unions
would have still lacked many federal marriage rights.
A broader approach will certainly be emphasized on both sides of
the issue as the gay marriage battle moves to the next battlegrounds.
Votes on same-sex marriage legislation are expected soon in New Jersey,
New York and Washington DC. And there may be a new vote on Proposition
8 as early as next year in California. In Maine, a new same-sex
marriage bill will likely be introduced in the coming years, launching
the process anew.
"We will work harder and learn better to dispel the distractions
and fears that are keeping a smaller and smaller slice of Americans
from treating others fairly," said Evan Wolfson, Freedom to Marry
executive director. "Each conversation, each day, each story, each win
will bring America closer to equality
in marriage."
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