PORTLAND, Maine (AP) - The leader of the Roman Catholic Church
in Maine is thanking voters for repealing the state's gay marriage law.

The side that called for a people's veto won with about 53
percent of the vote.

Bishop Richard Malone issued a statement thanking Maine's voters for protecting and reaffirming marriage as it's been understood "for millennia by civilizations and religions around the world."

Gay marriage has now lost in all 31 states where it has been put to a popular vote.

Gay activists were frustrated that President Barack Obama, who insists he supports their agenda, didn't speak out forcefully in
defense of Maine's marriage law before Tuesday's referendum.

But former Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee notes
that Obama, Hillary Rodham Clinton and Joe Biden all said they were
opposed to gay marriage during the 2008 campaign.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)