Maine voters in November will decide
whether gay and lesbian couples should be given the right to marry in
the state.
State officials on Thursday confirmed
that supporters had submitted enough valid signatures to put the
question on the ballot.
According to EqualityMaine, the group
submitted more 105,000 signatures, nearly twice the 57,000 names
needed.
“Same-sex couples want to marry for
the same reasons other couples want to marry: because they love each
other and want to spend their lives together,” EqualityMaine
Executive Director Betsy Smith said in a statement. “There's no
question that momentum is growing for same-sex marriage in Maine.”
The issue is a redo for Maine. In
2009, lawmakers approved a gay marriage bill. However, opponents
narrowly repealed the law with a “people's veto” at the ballot
box, known as Question 1.
Last month, the group released a poll
showing that a majority (54%) of Mainers say gay marriage should be
legal. Forty-two percent of respondents remain opposed to the
institution and 4 percent said they were unsure.
“Over the past few years, marriage
supporters have been talking to their friends, families, coworkers
and neighbors about why marriage matters,” Marc Solomon, national
campaign director for Freedom to Marry, said in a statement. “As
we work to win at the ballot, Freedom to Marry will be there every
step of the way alongside Equality Maine, GLAD, and others to
continue telling the stories of why marriage matters to loving,
committed gay and lesbian couples in Maine, and secure a win at the
ballot this November.”
If approved, Maine would become the
first state to win marriage at the ballot box.