“With 87 percent of precincts reporting early Wednesday [Nov. 4, 2009] morning, 53 percent of voters had approved the repeal, ending an expensive and emotional fight that was closely watched around the country as a referendum on the gay-marriage movement. Polls had suggested a much closer race…
With the repeal of the same-sex marriage law, Maine became the 31st state to reject same-sex marriage at the ballot box. Five other states – Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, New Hampshire and Vermont – have legalized same-sex marriage, but only through court rulings and legislative action…
Throughout the bitter campaign, supporters of same-sex marriage had stressed that gay couples deserved equal treatment under the law, banking on Maine’s reputation as a ‘live-and-let-live’ state. Opponents repeatedly warned voters that if gays were allowed to marry, it would be taught in the public schools – a tactic that proved effective in California last year.”