Opponents to same-sex marriage is leading in Maine

Reporting from Portland, Maine - Opponents of Maine's law allowing same-sex marriage claimed victory Tuesday night in their repeal effort, after a heated campaign that polarized the state and drew national attention.

With 87% of the 605 precincts reporting, the Associated Press said, opponents of same-sex marriage led with 53% of the vote, while those seeking to uphold the law had 47%.

The battle was the latest in whether to let gay couples marry. A year ago, Californians passed a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. If the law is repealed, Maine will join more than 30 other states that have rejected gay and lesbian marriage at the ballot box.

Same-sex unions are recognized in five states -- Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont -- as a result of judicial rulings or legislative action. Voters in Washington on Tuesday approved a measure extending the same legal rights to registered domestic partners that married couples enjoy.

Marc Mutty, chairman of Stand for Marriage Maine, which sought to overturn the state law, said the vote appeared to signal a "victory for traditional marriage."

"This has never been about gay rights," he said. "It's about marriage, and this is reaffirmation by the people of Maine that marriage between men and women is special and unique."

Earlier, gay rights supporters were hopeful of victory when state officials reported that voter turnout appeared unusually heavy. Officials had to print extra ballots to meet the demand.

"That's great for us," said Mark Sullivan, spokesman for No on 1/Protect Maine Equality, the coalition that is seeking to allow same-sex couples to marry. "It means we succeeded in reaching younger people and others who don't always vote."

The optimism was palpable several hours later, when more than 1,500 gay rights supporters packed a hotel ballroom in downtown Portland.

Across town, a few dozen supporters of the repeal movement sat quietly at mostly empty tables in another ballroom. The mood was considerably more subdued.

"Regardless of the outcome tonight, we fought the good fight," Mutty told the gathering. "We have nothing to be ashamed of."

But the moods shifted when an early lead by same-sex marriage supporters evaporated.

Jesse Connolly, chairman of No on 1/Protect Maine Equality, took the stage at 12:30 a.m. today but did not concede. "We won't quit," he said, noting that officials had not counted thousands of absentee ballots.

"It's gonna be a long night," he said.

Amy Fried, a political scientist at the University of Maine in Orono, said the state Legislature almost certainly would pass another same-sex marriage law if voters rejected the statute. If the law were upheld, she added, gay rights activists around the country would look for lessons in what worked and why.

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