Nov. 9, 2005 – Gay rights measures in Texas and Maine met different results at the polls yesterday. Texans overwhelmingly passed a ban on both gay marriage and civil unions, while in Maine it appears state voters approved earlier legislation protecting lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people from housing, employment, credit and education discrimination.
In Texas, voters approved a Constitutional amendment barring the state from recognizing same-sex marriages and civil unions by a 3-1 margin, according to early results reported by the Secretary of State’s office. The measure prohibits any Texas government body from "creating or recognizing any legal status identical or similar to marriage."
Texas law already bars gay marriage and the recognition of such legal couplings conducted in other jurisdictions, the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas noted. The group maintains that the amendment violates the state Bill of Rights.
Human Rights Campaign, an advocacy group for LGBT rights, considered both the Maine and Texas ballot measures "critical."
"The fight for fairness isn’t over, and we won’t give up," HRC President Joe Solmonese told the Associated Press last night. "These amendments are part of a long-standing effort by the extreme right to eliminate any legal recognition for gay people and our families."
In Main, according to numbers compiled by the Bangor Daily News, voters turned down referendum Question 1, which was put on the ballot by two conservative Christian organizations and would have overturned an anti-discrimination law passed earlier this year.
