Reply #35: Maine's a very Catholic state [View All]

[liberalpragmatist]

The Catholic Church went all out against this. And Maine's population is also relatively older, with a lot of rural voters. They're generally moderate on a lot of issues, but this is still an issue that they don't get or approve of. Plus it's an off-year election.

It's a fucking disappointment.

I'm not trying to put a positive spin on this - no reason any progressive should feel happy about this vote - but I do think it's important to take the long view sometimes. At the beginning of this year, two states had legal gay marriage. Even if this repeal happens, five states now have marriage equality. That number is going to go up. I suspect referendums in 2012 will restore marriage equality to both California and Maine. And New York may well get gay marriage within the next two years. (NJ is a different story, now that Christie has been elected, although there was some talk about passing gay marriage during a lame-duck session while Corzine is still governor.)