Maine marriage victory proves Americans 'aren't on board' with same-sex marriage, says expert

Nov 6, 2009 / 09:58 am

Maggie Gallagher, president of the National Organization for Marriage, spoke to CNA about the victory of Question 1 in Maine, which repeals previous legislation legalizing gay ‘marriage.’ Gallagher said that the victory, which defies statistics and expectations, “is very heartening to marriage supporters and disappointing to gay ‘marriage’ advocates.”

Noting that the supporters of same-sex marriage were surprised and upset by this victory, Gallagher analyzed the circumstances leading up to the election. “The gay marriage advocates,” she told CNA on Thursday, “had a three-year head start. They put millions into building an extensive grassroots organization.” She also noted, “Maine was a socially liberal state… and they have the entire political establishment on their side.”

Also important in the preparation for the election, was the experience and information gathered from the failure of Proposition 8 in California. “They ran the kind of ads that the critics said would have won in California,” Gallagher said. But the voters in Maine rejected the proposition by an even larger margin than they had in California.

Question 1, an initiative which overturned the Maine legislature’s decision to recognize homosexual couples as married, passed on Tuesday by a margin of 52.9 to 47.1 percent.

The results of Monday’s election represent “a change in the social narrative they were trying to create,” says Gallagher. Despite all the preparation, the extra time, and the incredible financial advantage, the American people have made it known that “they aren’t on board with this gay ‘marriage’ thing,” she concluded.