One-thousand-five-hundred-and-thirty
gay and lesbian couples married in Maine in 2013.
According to data from the Maine Office
of Data, Research and Vital Statistics, gay couples made up 16
percent of the 9,524 marriages in Maine held in the year since a gay
marriage law took effect on December 29, 2012. More female couples
(970) than male couples (560) married.
On November 6, 2012, Maine became the
first state to legalize marriage equality at the ballot box. The win
was especially poignant because voters in 2009 had repealed a
marriage law approved by lawmakers.
First to marry in Portland were Steve
Bridges and Michael Snell.
About 300 people braved the cold to
cheer the newlyweds as they exited City Hall after their midnight
ceremony.
“It's been kind of surreal,”
Bridges then told reporters. “We didn't expect all this
attention.”
“It means that our relationship, our
marriage, is equal to everybody else's,” Snell said.
While opponents vowed to return the
issue to the ballot, no organized effort has yet to emerge.