Gay marriage supporters closing ranks in Maine
http://www.seacoastonline.com/articles/20120202-NEWS-202020401
Days after marriage equality proponents turned in petitions to the Maine secretary of state's office to put the question on the November ballot, both supporters and opponents of the measure are gearing up for a political fight. Again.
On Jan. 26, supporters turned in petitions with 105,000 signatures, nearly double the 57,000 signatures required to put a citizens initiative on the ballot.
This is not the first time a marriage equality proposal has come before voters. In 2009, opponents successfully mounted a citizens veto of a gay marriage law passed by the Legislature.
This time, gay marriage supporters said, they're confident of victory. For one, they point to internal polling that indicates 54 percent of Mainers support a marriage equality law, compared to 47 percent at this same point in 2009. In voting that year, however, those numbers essentially swapped, with 47 voting in favor of the law and 53 percent voting to repeal it.