PORTLAND, Maine - Maine voters on Tuesday torpedoed a state law that would have allowed same-sex couples to marry, a heartbreaking defeat for the gay rights movement, particularly since it occurred in a corner of the country most supportive of gay marriage.
With 84 percent of the precincts reporting, gay-marriage foes had 53 percent of the vote Tuesday.
At issue was a law passed by the Maine Legislature last spring that would have legalized same-sex marriage. The law was put on hold after conservatives launched a petition drive to repeal it in a referendum.
Gay marriage has now lost in every single state -- 31 in all -- in which it has been put to a popular vote. Gay-rights activists had hoped to buck that trend in Maine....
