What Went Wrong?

As the country watched, the people of Maine voted to repeal the state's new law on same sex marriage, 53%-47%, during Tuesday's election. Had this law been approved it would have represented a large victory for the gay community, especially because it would have been done by the people. Despite what seemed to be the perfect political setting for such a policy to be enacted, it was a failed attempt.

But why did this fail? The Democratic Party currently holds the House and Senate in Maine and John Baldacci, the governor, is also a Democrat. The government clearly showed support for gay marriage by drafting the law that would later be voted on by the people. The grassroots movement "No On 1" managed to garner volunteers from all over the country and raised almost twice as much money compared to the right wing group "Stand for Marriage." Supporters of "No On 1" took note of the strategic failures of the "No On 8" campaign in California last fall and tried to combat them by educating people on the issue and getting them out to vote early.

But despite all of this their efforts were not enough. The policy window for gay marriage in Maine had definitely opened (after all, the state did just expand its medical marijuana laws, indicating that progressive social reform was a possibility). Some analysts site the lack of support from national democratic figures such as President Obama as a reason why the law was repealed, while others, such as Geoff Kors, director of Equality California, state that more work needed to be done to win over voters before the election--not during it.

Although they had the chance, supporters of gay marriage fell short, perhaps for a variety of reasons. It can only be hoped that a window for gay marriage will open again in the near future and that when that time comes, the people fighting for it will be ready.