Opponents of Maine's marriage equality law have gathered enough signatures to place the measure on the November ballot. Governor John Baldacci, who signed Maine's marriage equality bill into law on May 6, released a proclamation announcing voters would see the measure.
The Bangor Daily News: "Maine Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap said Wednesday that foes ofMaine's same-sex marriage law had surpassed the 55,087 signaturesneeded for a referendum. Stand for Marriage Maine had filed more than100,000 signatures with the state. However, Dunlap's office stoppedcounting at around 60,000 due to time constraints…The issue will now appear as Question 1 on the Nov. 3 ballot.Certification of the people's veto suspends enactment of the law untilafter the statewide vote. The law was to take effect Sept. 12. The question on the ballot will appear as follows: 'Do you want toreject the new law that lets same-sex couples marry and allowsindividuals and religious groups to refuse to perform these marriages?'"
Having anticipated this outcome, Vote No on 1 / Protect Marriage Equality has been working against the measure for several weeks already. A 60-second ad produced by GLAD, Equality Maine, and MCLU began running across the state two weeks ago.
And, as I noted in an earlier post, marriage equality foes have been casting for actors to play bigots in a new anti-gay ad.
I've posted the Protect Marriage Equality ad again, for those who missed it, AFTER THE JUMP…
