Opponents of same sex marriage have submitted a people’s veto application in Maine to repeal legislation that legalized same sex marriage in the state last week. The application was submitted just one day after Governor John Baldacci signed the law.
The law is supposed to go into effect September 15. However, under Maine state law, a people’s veto can delay the law from going into effect. According to the Bangor Daily News, more than 55,000 valid signatures are needed to place a repeal of the law on the state ballot. If petitions against the law are submitted with the necessary number of signatures prior to September 15, a 30-day stay of the law will go into effect until the signatures are certified and the issue is placed on the statewide November ballot, according to the Maine Public Broadcasting Network.
Maine is the fifth state to permit same sex marriage in the United States after Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, and Vermont. Similar legislation is currently under consideration in New York and New Hampshire. A recent poll showed 47.3 percent of Maine residents support the same sex marriage bill and that 49.5 percent oppose the legislation, reported the Associated Press.
