Voters in Maryland, Maine, Minnesota and Washington backed same-sex marriage measures Tuesday night to the uproarious reaction of supporters.
“Big wins,” tweeted Brian Ellner, the cofounder of online-based gay-marriage movement, The Four 2012. His group created YouTube videos targeting voters in those battleground states to support same-sex marriage.
This marks a watershed moment for the gay rights movement: it is the first time the gay marriage has gone to popular vote and been approved. In the six states and the District of Columbia that have previously legalized gay marriage, it was accomplished through court rulings or enacted by lawmakers.
Maine was the first state to have its ballot measure results called by the Associated Press. It prompted a celebratory reaction from gay vlogger Tyler Oakley.
“Marriage equality passes in Maine. Think of how many loving, committed relationships now have access to marriage benefits. Beautiful,” tweeted Oakley.
In Maryland, the same-sex marriage measure passed 52 percent to 48 percent, according to Politico. @MD4Equality, a Twitter account building support for the passage, tweeted a rejoicing message thanking voters.
“We did it! Tonight Maryland affirmed its long standing values of fairness and equality. Tonight, we all won. #votefor6#marriage2012,” the group tweeted.
In Washington, where tabulations are still incomplete, marriage equality leads with 52 percent of the vote, Modern Family actor Jesse Tyler Ferguson tweeted his congratulations to the state. “My heart is full of joy! #progress,” he tweeted.
Chris Kluwe, one of the NFL’s most vocal supporters for same-sex rights, happily reacted once he received the news that Minnesota voters batted down an amendment to ban gay marriage.
“And that’ll do it. Thank you everyone for all your support. Still a long road ahead, but we’re now the first state to beat this thing,” tweeted Kluwe, garnering 220 retweets. He wrote a piece for Slate lauding the milestone and encouraged people to end bigotry toward gay people.
The National Organization for Marriage, an anti-gay marriage group, didn’t tweet their congratulations and rather reinforced their beliefs of a “traditional marriage” between a man and a woman.
“#Marriage needs reinforcement, not redefinition. #1m1w #election,” tweeted NOM. It was only retweeted eight times.
Photo via TheFour2012/Tumblr
