PrintThin Margins for Same-Sex Marriage
Election night results from the four states with same-sex marriage on the ballot in one form or another tell a tale:
|
State |
Voted FOR Same-Sex Marriage |
|
Maine |
53% |
|
Maryland |
52% |
|
Minnesota |
51% |
|
Washington |
52% |
Here's what is really interesting: these are liberal states, ranging in shades of blue from indigo to cobalt. The effort to defend the definition of marriage outperformed the GOP ticket in every single case.
|
State |
Voted AGAINST Same-Sex Marriage |
Voted FOR Romney/Ryan |
|
Maine |
47% |
41% |
|
Maryland |
48% |
37% |
|
Minnesota |
49% |
45% |
|
Washington |
48% |
43% |
The difference between the percentage of those who voted against same-sex marriage in each of these states and those who voted for Romney/Ryan represents the minimum percentage of Obama/Biden supporters who are against redefining marriage.
In my home state, Maryland, a minimum of 23% [100% - (37%/48%) = 23%] of the opposition to same-sex marriage came from Obama/Biden supporters. Earlier in the year, the Maryland House of Delegates only narrowly passed same-sex marriage legislation with just one vote to spare, and that only came with lots of arm-twisting.
These are not overwhelming victories representing a sea change in public attitude toward same-sex marriage. These are tactical wins.
