Maine Senators Susan Collins and
Olympia Snowe have no position on next month's referendum which seeks
to legalize gay marriage in Maine.
If voters approve Question 1 on
November 6, Maine would become the first state to legalize marriage
equality at the ballot box.
The senators are not publicly
discussing where they stand on the groundbreaking referendum.
Collins told the gay weekly the
Washington
Blade that she is “considering” her position on the
issue.
“Historically, laws regulating family
and domestic affairs have been almost exclusively regulated by the
states which is why I have voted against federal constitutional
amendments defining marriage,” Collins said in an e-mail. “Next
month, the voters in Maine will be asked to decide if they will allow
the state to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Like
voters in my state, I am considering this issue very carefully.”
Retiring Snowe offered a similar
response.
“It is left to individual states
through the legislature or referenda to make their own determinations
on this personal issue – and the people of Maine will now make this
final determinations come Election Day,” said Snowe.
Collins and Snowe are considered among
the most gay-friendly Republicans in Congress.