In the actual campaign, the opponents of marriage equality, principally the Roman Catholic Church and the Mormon-front group, the National Organization for Marriage, launched an assault on equal marriage rights by stoking fears that somehow legalizing same-sex marriage would have a deleterious effect on school children and, at the same time, running ads saying that they had no objection to domestic partnership or civil unions, only to the "redefinition" of marriage. Notwithstanding the fact that the Roman Catholic Church and the National Organization for Marriage have consistently opposed domestic partnerships, their ads alleging their support of gay rights seem to have been effective.

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District of Columbia

On May 4, 2009, just as the Maine legislature was approving marriage equality, the Washington, D. C. City Council overwhelmingly approved a bill that recognizes same-sex marriages performed in jurisdictions where they are legal.

The bill, which is subject to review by Congress, was described by openly gay Council member David Catania as "the culmination of a long journey as we attempt to be true to our motto--'Justice for All.'"

If Congress does not veto the measure, same-sex couples who live in the District and who have been married in other jurisdictions would be granted such legal rights as joint filing of city tax returns and all private health care and pension benefits that are afforded heterosexual couples.

Catania, who plans to introduce a bill to permit same-sex marriage in the District, regards the bill as a precursor to full marriage equality.

Nevada Domestic Partnerships

Beginning on October 1, 2009, both same-sex and opposite-sex couples in Nevada have the option of domestic partnerships, which offer most of the rights and responsibilities of marriage in areas such as estate planning, medical decisions, community property, and child care.

The legislature had passed the law by comfortable, but not veto-proof margins, only to see the embattled Republican governor, Jim Gibbons, a Mormon, veto the measure, saying that the rights conferred by the legislation could be attained through contracts.

After much lobbying by Nevada's powerful gaming and tourism industry, which feared the possibility of a gay boycott of the state, both houses of the legislature voted during the final days of May 2009 to override the gubernatorial veto.

The law, which was sponsored by openly gay Senator David Parks, was hailed by Gary Peck, executive director of the ACLU in Nevada, who characterized the override as putting "our state on the right side of a growing movement to honor this country's promise that every one of us is entitled to equal treatment under the law."

Victory in New Hampshire

After a roller-coaster ride on the question of marriage equality, New Hampshire adopted marriage equality on June 3, 2009, becoming the third state to adopt same-sex marriage through legislative means rather than through a ruling by the judiciary.