Over.
We lost the campaign. Maine voted (by a slim margin, the slimmest ever) to repeal the law granting gay and lesbian couples the right to marry.
I'm not feeling as upset about it as I feel I "ought" to be--I feel like, had we won, I'd be feeling more emotional right now. I sort of feel like we didn't really lose much, even though we did lose the campaign--the law was never officially in effect because of the pending people's veto, so same-sex couples weren't able to get marriage licenses or anything. It's a bit less shocking than the passing of Prop 8 last year, for me; I remember getting a little misty-eyed looking at wedding photos, and then to think of the loving, committed couples having that sweet victory taken away... man.
We were having a gathering at a couple different bars in the nearby town of Hallowell; most of the local team that Matt and I had been working with for months were there. We got a few rounds of free drinks and finally one of the organizers with the Gay and Lesbian Task Force came in, fresh off the phone with the Portland headquarters, and announced to all of us that we'd lost by a couple points. Later one of our most dedicated local teammates came in all teary-eyed. We both gave him a hug. I'm sure he and his partner are both pretty devastated right now--they were pouring their whole lives into this thing.
Bah, I just don't even know what to say. I feel such a mix of things right now and yet not very much at all. It's so anticlimactic.
I do feel confident that the entire No on 1 team did incredible work. Maine also made history by passing a same-sex marriage bill through the legislature, and then having the governor sign it--no other state has done THAT before. I'm proud of what we did as a team and proud of myself individually, and I feel certain that in twenty years this won't even be an issue anymore.
I'm not feeling as upset about it as I feel I "ought" to be--I feel like, had we won, I'd be feeling more emotional right now. I sort of feel like we didn't really lose much, even though we did lose the campaign--the law was never officially in effect because of the pending people's veto, so same-sex couples weren't able to get marriage licenses or anything. It's a bit less shocking than the passing of Prop 8 last year, for me; I remember getting a little misty-eyed looking at wedding photos, and then to think of the loving, committed couples having that sweet victory taken away... man.
We were having a gathering at a couple different bars in the nearby town of Hallowell; most of the local team that Matt and I had been working with for months were there. We got a few rounds of free drinks and finally one of the organizers with the Gay and Lesbian Task Force came in, fresh off the phone with the Portland headquarters, and announced to all of us that we'd lost by a couple points. Later one of our most dedicated local teammates came in all teary-eyed. We both gave him a hug. I'm sure he and his partner are both pretty devastated right now--they were pouring their whole lives into this thing.
Bah, I just don't even know what to say. I feel such a mix of things right now and yet not very much at all. It's so anticlimactic.
I do feel confident that the entire No on 1 team did incredible work. Maine also made history by passing a same-sex marriage bill through the legislature, and then having the governor sign it--no other state has done THAT before. I'm proud of what we did as a team and proud of myself individually, and I feel certain that in twenty years this won't even be an issue anymore.