Maine no to marriage equality

Taking its cue from California, the US state of Maine yesterday voted against allowing same-sex marriage.
A referendum was held after the law had already been approved by the state’s legislature. Voters, however, turned their backs on gay marriage, with almost 53 percent voting to repeal the new law.
The result has dashed the hopes of many same-sex Maine couples.
The decision also bodes badly for gaining same-sex marriage rights via the ballot box in the US, with gay marriage lost in every state when put to popular vote.
Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont, Iowa and New Hampshire relied on court rulings and state legislators to allow same-sex couples to marry.
Australian Marriage Equality national spokesman Alex Greenwich said he was certain that if same-sex marriage was put to popular vote in Australia, the result would be different.
“Galaxy polling shows that 60 percent of Australians support same-sex marriage, so if a vote arose and a clear question was put to the Australian public, I’m confident it would pass,” he said.
Greenwich said although he believes the ‘religious right’ in Australia is not as strong as in the US, religious influence is impacting on whether the question would be put to the Australian people via a referendum.
“The problem is with our Prime Minister who would rather meet with the Australian Christian Lobby than Australian Marriage Equality to discuss the issue of marriage.”