Family Life

11.08.12 | Sarah Harnisch

Conservatives took a huge blow on gay marriage in the general election Tuesday. Two states, Maine and maryland, became the first states to approved same sex marriage by popular vote, and Washington state is poised to follow suit, though ballot counting there has been slow. The question is-- why? The former head of the National Organization for Marriage, Maggie Gallagher, says all those states tend to be liberal, and the candidates weren't supported financially. "The supporters of marriage were outspent roughly 8 to 1." Bishop Harry Jackson says not only did the general public not support candidates running for traditional marriage, the republican party didn't back them, either. He said "the GOP basically said 'you traditional church folks, you're on your own. We have a little bit in our platform, we're not going to fund you, we're not going to support you.' And I think they lost the whole thing."  There are now nine states that support gay marriage, as well as Washington D.C. By January, when 3 new state laws take effect, 15 percent of Americans will live in states where it is legal for same sex couples to marry.