Maine's Anti-Gay Marriage Advocates Win Big! Prop 8 Redux

Maine voters have rejected a law allowing same-sex couples to marry, in a major setback to gay rights advocates hoping the state would become the first in the U.S where voters directly approve gay marriage, reports CNN.

As the ballot counting continued past midnight, the margin continued to grow - with 52.7 percent of voters in favor of the repeal - and the Associated Press called the race in favor of gay-marriage opponents shortly before 1 a.m. Wednesday morning.

The "people's veto' came six months after Maine's law was initially approved and one year after California voters rejected gay marriage by a parallel margin.

In a ballroom at Maine's Portland hotel, same-sex marriage advocates spent the majority of the evening dancing and cheering, but when defeat became certain, the crowd grew more subdued as the hours passed and the votes favoring a repeal of the gay-marriage law pulled ahead.

'No on 1' campaign manager Jesse Connolly vowed to continue counting votes into the morning, but seemed to concede that they had lost this battle.

"We're not short timers. We're in for the long haul,' he said early this morning. "We will regroup. This is about love and commitment and family, and so we'll stay the course. And I ask you to stay the course with us.'

Massachusetts became the first state to legalize gay marriage, in 2003, under a landmark decision issued by the state's high court. Connecticut courts legalized gay marriage there in 2008, and then Iowa, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine followed earlier this year, either through legislation or court rulings. Same-sex marriage was briefly legal in California, until 52 percent of voters approved a constitutional ban last year.