Dear Maine: Really?

I guess it's always surprising to see who ends up being the bigot among us, right? Today, many gays, gay allies and supporters of equal rights awoke to some bad news: Maine voted "yes" on Question 1. What does that mean? Homosexual couples are not permitted to wed.

Wasn't it just a few months ago that Maine was celebrated for allowing same-sex unions? And now, Maine voters have voted to repeal the law their governor signed off on this spring. Not only is it a slap in the face, it's also reminiscent of life on the the elementary school playground. The kid who always gets picked on is suddenly accepted by the popular kids to play dodgeball, only to find out he's about to be pelted with the ball by the people who he thought supported him. Right now, Maine is sticking out its tongue at its gay citizens and saying, "JUST KIDDING, WE DON'T LIKE YOU! NA NA NA NA!"

I'm not a New Englander, but I anticipate being one someday, and I'm more than a little disappointed that such backwardness is coming from a region celebrated for its breadth of education and enlightenment. I can't even blame the government for making the poll question ambiguous and hard to understand. It was pretty simple: "Do you want to reject the new law that lets same-sex couples marry and allows individuals and religious groups to refuse to perform these marriages?" It doesn't get much more straightforward than that, Mainers. And yet 57 percent of Maine voters thought it was okay to take away a basic human right. Can I vote against your marriage, there, sir? Ma'am?

it's always the ones you least expect, isn't it?

A friend of mine from south of the Mason-Dixon took this opportunity to ask Northerners to stop bashing the South and "maybe let gay people get married, thanks." Aren't we supposed to be setting an example? Aren't places like the Northeast (and California) supposed to be the places where progess begins, not ends?

Eventually, we'll all be treated as equals. I have every faith in this. I just hope it happens in our lifetime, and sooner, rather than later.

Here's hoping @je_suis_le_chef is right when he says, "give it a year for it to change and then 20 years for people to forget that gay marriage was ever an issue."