A Setback in Maine for Gay Marriage, but Medical Marijuana Law Expands

In a stinging setback for the national gay-rights movement, Maine voters narrowly decided to repeal the state’s new law allowing same-sex marriage.

With 87 percent of precincts reporting early Wednesday morning, 53 percent of voters had approved the repeal, ending an expensive and emotional fight that was closely watched around the country as a referendum on the gay-marriage movement. Polls had suggested a much closer race.

Maine voters also decided to expand the state’s 10-year-old medical marijuana law, approving a ballot question to allow state-regulated dispensaries to grow the drug and sell it to patients. The vote came weeks after the Obama administration announced it would not prosecute patients and distributors who are in “clear and unambiguous” compliance with state laws. Maine will be the third state, after New Mexico and Rhode Island, to allow tightly regulated, nonprofit marijuana dispensaries.

With the repeal of the same-sex marriage law, Maine became the 31st state to reject same-sex marriage at the ballot box. Five other states — Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, New Hampshire and Vermont — have legalized same-sex marriage, but only through court rulings and legislative action.

The Maine vote was particularly discouraging for gay-rights groups because it took place in New England, the region that has been the most open to same-sex marriage, and because opponents of the repeal had far outspent backers. Gov. John Baldacci, a Democrat, had enthusiastically backed the state law allowing gay marriage, passed by the legislature in May but put on hold until the referendum took place.

The repeal came a year after California voters banned same-sex marriage with a constitutional amendment. Preliminary results showed strong opposition to the repeal in Portland, the state’s biggest city, but not enough to counter widespread support in more conservative regions to the north.

In another election night setback for gay-rights supporters, Gov. Jon S. Corzine of New Jersey, who supports gay marriage, lost to Christopher Christie, a Republican who opposes it. Many believed the legislature there was close to passing a gay-marriage bill, but with Mr. Corzine’s defeat, all bets are off.

Throughout the bitter campaign, supporters of same-sex marriage had stressed that gay couples deserved equal treatment under the law, banking on Maine’s reputation as a “live-and-let-live” state. Opponents repeatedly warned voters that if gays were allowed to marry, it would be taught in the public schools — a tactic that proved effective in California last year.

The Catholic Church was a leading supporter of the repeal campaign, even asking parishes to pass a second collection plate at Sunday Mass to help the cause. The National Organization for Marriage also contributed heavily to the repeal campaign; it is under investigation by Maine’s ethics commission for possibly flouting state campaign finance laws by refusing to reveal its donors.

Under the changes to the medical marijuana law, which were approved by 59 percent of voters with three-quarters of precincts reporting early Wednesday morning, Maine will also expand the list of medical conditions for which a patient can use the drug.

Proponents say such dispensaries provide safe and legal access to the drug for people with debilitating conditions, many of whom might otherwise seek it on the street. Under Maine’s current law, patients are allowed to grow small amounts of marijuana themselves, but medical marijuana advocates say many are too sick to do so.

The changes will also prohibit landlords and employers from discriminating against medical marijuana patients, and schools from denying them enrollment.

Law enforcement officials in Maine opposed the changes, saying the state did not have enough resources to closely monitor dispensaries.

Maine is among 13 states where medical marijuana is legal, but most give patients no help in obtaining it.