Maine: Opponents of equal marriage receive $250,000 boost
An anti-equal marriage group are flooding money into a campaign in Maine to oppose the change for equal marriage in the state’s referendum in November.
On Thursday, the National Organisation for Marriage gave $250,000 to Protect Marriage Maine, which is leading the opposition of a pro-equal-marriage vote in November, campaign manager, Frank Schubert said.
Salon.com reported that Mr Schubert said they were doing so, because they think the November vote could potentially have national ramifications, given that Maine could be the first state to legalise equal marriage though a referendum.
He said: “It is a critical race for the survival of the institution of marriage in this country,” Schubert said. “It’s a race that the entire nation is looking at and will have an impact far beyond the borders of Maine.”
Mr Schubert, as well as managing the campaign in Maine, is manager of three other state-wide campaigns: Washington, Maryland and Minnesota.
He said that equal marriage opponents had only raised between $100,000 and $200,000 towards their campaign so far, whilst supporters of the change plan to spend $5 million.
In 2009. Maine voters narrowly rejected a proposal to give gay couples the right to wed, 53-47%.
Many supporters believe that this time around, equal marriage will become law, because supporters have been said to have been working long and hard, whilst some say the opponents have yet to kick off a strong campaign.
Polls suggest around 57% of voters are in support of the change.
