CARNAL NATION

With polls on the East Coast already closed for more than 3 hours, the referendum on gay marriage in Maine is still too close to call. The early returns show a dead heat with 148 of 608 precincts reporting. Nearly 100,000 Maine residents voted prior to today by absentee ballot; however, there are more than 1 million registered voters in the northernmost New England state. Four other New England states—Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Connecticut—have legalized same-sex marriage. Maine legalized gay marriage in May of this year; however, opponents, in large part supported by the Catholic Church, almost immediately made an issue of the new law, gathering enough signatures to place it on today's ballot as a referendum. Matthew Dunlap, Maine's secretary of state, told reporters that voter turnout was higher than expected in an off-year election.

Victory for those supporting the rights of gays and lesbians to marry would galvanize the movement across the nation. Defeat would be a heartbreaking setback, especially after the passage of Proposition 8 in California earlier this year which reversed a court decision legalizing same-sex marriage in the most populous American state. Regardless of what happens in Maine this evening, the issue of same-sex marriage will not go gentle into that good night. While victory would certainly help efforts across the nation to include all people regardless of sexual orientation in the basic rights offered by this country, defeat will certainly energize a community tired of the empty, discriminatory, and reactionary rhetoric that seeks to create a class system based on whom one chooses to love.

For the record, CarnalNation supports the right of all people to marry whom they wish. CarnalNation also supports everyone's choice not to marry. The United States was founded on the principles of freedom and equality; how these principles are related to the issue of gay marriage could not be more eloquently summarized than by the words of Philip Spooner. Mr. Spooner is the 86-year-old father of four children—one of whom is gay—and a decorated World War II veteran. View his impassioned, heartfelt, and tearful testimony before the Maine Judiciary Committee overseeing the gay marriage issue in April here.

The civilized world is watching what happens today in Maine. And despite the popular stereotype, you can get there from here!