Maine’s state government passed a bill that would recognize same sex marriages. Although Maine’s Governor John Baldacci previous was opposed to such legislation, he reversed his position after considerable deliberation. The affect of the law is not immediate, because state legislation takes about 90 days after its passage. It is expected that opponents for same sex marriages will put the issue on a public referendum to defeat the legislation.

It seems the proponents for same sex marriages have been gaining some considerable political ground this year. I am still surprised that Iowa has legalized same sex marriages, but I am more surprised by the quick development in Maine. I am still not sure if the momentum for same sex marriages will carry through beyond the Northwest region of the United States, but it should be noted that a large libertarian population in the New England region made such political progress possible.

I think the next move for the opponents for same sex marriages will be to make grounds on socially conservative states by pressuring legislators to pass state laws that will ban same sex marriages. What this will lead, I think, will be an ever more split nation on this single issue. I do not think either side has enough political capital to make a push for a federal legislation to support their principles, so most of the future battles on this issue will be done at the state level.