Tags : Gay Marriage Law, same-sex marriages
A Day Before Polls Open, Maine Voters Divided About Repealing Gay Marriage Law
Augusta, ME (AHN) – Voters in the Pine Tree State are deeply divided about whether to repeal a newly adopted law legalizing same-sex marriages, according to the Public Policy Polling. Maine holds a referendum on Tuesday, following a petition filed by conservatives who say accepting the “callous and dangerous” law would harm the education of children, religious liberty and free speech.
Fifty-one percent of voters want the legislation, LD 1020, abolished while 47 percent want the law to stand, putting gay advocates and conservatives virtually neck-and-neck since the survey’s margin of error is 2.9 percent.
Among Democrats, 71 percent want to vote down the referendum, called Question 1, but more Republicans, 77 percent, support it. More men want the referendum to pass than women, by a margin of 56-46 percent. All age groups are split on the issue, with support for Question 1 among young voters at 48-51 percent, and among seniors at 59-40 percent.
A PPP survey in early October had overall support for and against Question 1 tied at 48 percent each, while a Pan Atlantic SMS Group poll two weeks ago had LGBT allies ahead by an 11-point lead. The trendline of surveys on the referendum since September has support for gay advocates fairly steady and conservatives gradually increasing support.
Maine became the fifth state to allow same-sex marriages after Gov. John Baldacci signed LD 1020 on May 6 despite his previous opposition to same-sex marriages. In August, a coalition that supports traditional marriage, Stand for Marriage Maine, successfully petitioned for a referendum on the law.
The fight in the state has mirrored a larger battle nationwide. Stand for Marriage Maine has received significant assistance the National Organization for Marriage, raising $1.4 million in only 20 days last month. Meanwhile, Protect Maine Equality has been gathering grassroots support and donations with the help of the Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender civil rights group, and Equality California, which is leading efforts to repeal a ban on gay marriages in the Golden State.
A total of six states now allow same-sex marriages, four of which adopted their statutes this year. Massachusetts, the first state in the nation to legalize same-sex marriages, sued the federal government in July over the constitutionality of the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which provides the federal definition of marriage as the legal union between a man and a woman. The District of Columbia also began recognizing same-sex marriages performed in other jurisdictions.
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