Gay Marriage in Maine and D.C.

A quick update on Tuesday's blog. On Wednesday, Maine's House of Representatives did in fact approve the state's same-sex marriage bill. Although it was a little unclear whether or not he would, Democratic Gov. John Baldacci did sign the bill into signed into law. Maine becomes the fifth state to legalize same-sex marriage!

Unfortunately, Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap said Thursday that opponents filed a challenge under the state's "people's veto" provision. Opponents would need to get at least 10 percent of people who voted in the last governor's election to force a referendum in November. The signature-collecting deadline would probably fall in mid-September.

On a more positive note, this week the Washington D.C. Council voted 12-1 to recognize other states’ gay marriages. Council Member David A. Catania said that if Congress does not intervene, he plans to introduce a separate bill later this year that would allow same-sex marriages to be performed in D.C. If it goes before voters, it could be interesting to see how D.C. residents vote. The Washington Post-ABC News poll conducted last month, that I blogged about on Wednesday found that 49 percent of voters nationwide support the legalization of same-sex marriage. But among African Americans, 51 percent opposed legalizing same-sex marriage and 42 percent supported it. According to the census, 55 percent of residents in the District of Columbia are African American.

We’ll be following closely what happens in both Washington D.C. and Maine.