A group seeking to overturn Maine’s recently enacted law permitting gay marriage dumped nearly double the number of signatures needed to get their referendum on the November’s off-year ballot to the Secretary of State Friday morning.
Stand for Marriage Maine only needed 55,000 signatures to qualify for the ballot, but collected more than 100,000—which their campaign manager says represents nearly 10 percent of actual voters in the state.
If Stand for Marriage Maine is successful in repealing the law by referendum, it could lead to another high-drama legal fight over marriage similar to what took place in California after their courts upheld a successful ballot measure repealing their law permitting gay marriage, called Proposition 8.
Maine became the 5th state to legalize gay marriage last May. Opponents say the bill was rushed through, which has helped draw people to their cause.
“It’s really remarkable how much disdain the legislature and the governor had for traditional marriage,” said Stand for Marriage Maine Campaign Manager Jeff Flint. “It’s partially reflective of how quickly were able to collect signatures because there was no opportunity for public debate.”
Six states, including Maine, currently allow gay marriage. The other five are: Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont.
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