October 20, 2009
Same-sex marriage fight roils Maine
by Sarah Schweitzer
The Boston Globe
SOUTH BERWICK, Maine - Just six months after Governor John Baldacci signed a law legalizing gay marriage in Maine, voters will decide whether to preserve it, making the state the latest battleground in the national fight over same-sex marriage.
For both sides, the Nov. 3 ballot initiative, Question One, is seen as a crucial juncture. Opponents want to show that momentum has shifted to their side, building on last year's California vote to approve a ban on gay marriage. Supporters - with victories in Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, Connecticut, and Iowa - are eager to demonstrate that California was a temporary setback.
"The defeat in California, which was by no means predicted, was a terrible black eye'' for supporters of same-sex marriage, said Christian Potholm, a government professor at Bowdoin College. "They very much want to make Maine a place where they turn that around.''
But the outcome for either side is far from assured. Polls indicate that the contest is so far evenly divided in the independent-minded state, where conservative moral beliefs and entrenched live-and-let-live attitudes often go together.
Read the complete story (Some news sites require registration)
