Judgment day for gay marriage

last updated 8 January 2015

Maine voters will decide Tuesday whether to uphold a law signed in May allowing gay couples to get married. Maine would be the first state to approve same-sex marriage at the ballot box -- but polls show an even fight. What does the vote mean for the future of gay marriage?

This could be a leap forward for gay marriage: "Don't be mistaken: This is a historic election," says Chellie Pingree in The Huffington Post. If Maine becomes the first state to "support marriage equality in a statewide vote"—after the anti-gay-marriage forces defeated Prop. 8 in California—the victory for fairness and equality "will resonate across the country and, I guarantee, through the halls of Congress."

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Redefining marriage would hurt society: Domestic partnership laws would give same-sex couples the same rights and benefits, says Marc Mutty in the Bangor Daily News. Upholding the gay-marriage law would show the downside of gay marriage—children would be taught about the new definition in elementary schools, and people "with religious conscientious objections to same-sex marriage" could face lawsuits. Given the pitfalls, there's no reason to tear traditional marriage from the law books.

Gay marriage will win regardless of what Maine decides: Gay-marriage supporters should "dampen expectations," say the editors of the Baltimore Sun. The Maine race is "too close to call," but even if voters repeal the law, as they did in California, the movement for equal rights for gays and lesbians is gaining momentum. "No civil-rights movement is immune from setbacks," but the march toward equality is "relentless."

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