State Poised For 2nd Public Vote On Gay Marriage

AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — Gay rights activists in the state of Maine, the only state in the northeastern region of New England that doesn’t allow gay marriage or civil unions, moved Thursday toward forcing a second statewide vote on the marriage question, and their opponents say they’ll be ready for a fight.

If Maine residents approve gay marriage this time around, the state would be the first to do so by a popular vote. After the Legislature approved gay marriage three years ago, opponents forced the question before voters, who overturned the law 53 percent to 47 percent.

In New England, gay marriage is recognized in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Connecticut and Vermont, and civil unions for same-sex couples are allowed in Rhode Island. Other states that allow gay marriage are New York and Iowa, along with Washington, the capital.

In the six states where gay-marriage is allowed, the laws all came either through court orders or legislative votes, not through a statewide popular vote.

Elsewhere, bills to legalize same-sex marriage have good chances of passage this year in legislatures in Maryland, New Jersey and Washington. Proposed amendments for constitutional bans on gay marriage will be on the ballots in North Carolina on May 8 and in Minnesota on Nov. 6.

To get gay marriage on the 2012 ballot in Maine, organizers needed to collect signatures by Jan. 30. If those are certified, the proposal first goes to the Republican-controlled Legislature for an up-or-down vote. If the Legislature approves the proposal and the governor signs it, then gay marriage will be legalized immediately. If the Legislature doesn’t approve it or the governor doesn’t sign a bill, as expected, the question goes to voters.

EqualityMaine, the American Civil Liberties Union, the Maine Women’s Lobby and their supporters turned over dozens of cartons of petitions signed by 105,000 voters, far more than the 57,277 needed to force a referendum in November. The petitions must be certified by election officials.

After an effort to reach out and meet personally with voters, gay rights advocates kicked off a new petition drive in August. By November, they had collected more than 100,000 signatures, but supporters wanted to wait to make sure the timing was right before deciding whether to deliver those petitions to the secretary of state.

Opponents said they will be ready for the renewed referendum fight with bolstered forces.

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland, which opposes gay marriage, expressed disappointment that gay marriage supporters chose to seek another vote so soon after the 2009 referendum.

“After the bitterly divisive campaign of 2009, in which Maine people clearly and decisively voted against changing the meaning of marriage, we’re dismayed that they would bring this issue back for yet another vote,” Brian Souchet, a spokesman for the diocese, said in a statement.

In Maine, the state ACLU leader said same-sex marriage is a constitutional right, guaranteed by the religious-freedom and equal-protection amendments, said the group’s executive director, Shenna Bellows.