SAN FRANCISCO — Stunned and angry, national gay rights leaders Wednesday blamed scare-mongering ads — and President Barack Obama’s lack of engagement — for a bitter election setback in Maine that could alter the dynamics for both sides in the gay-marriage debate.

Conservatives, in contrast, celebrated Maine voters’ rejection of a law that would have allowed gay couples to wed, depicting it as a warning shot that should deter politicians in other states from pushing for same-sex marriage.

AP

From Joe Gariofoli at the Chron:

Tuesday’s battle pitted Mainers’ “live and let live” values against the moral power of the Catholic Church, which was at the forefront of the Stand for Marriage Maine campaign to repeal the law.

The Yes on 1 campaign was a virtual copy of the California effort, which ended with 52 percent of voters in favor of Prop. 8. TV ads for the measure were the work of the Sacramento firm of Schubert Flint Public Affairs, which ran the California campaign.

In Maine, same-sex marriage supporters raised $4 million, compared with $2.6 million for Stand for Marriage. In recent weeks, same-sex marriage proponents from California made tens of thousands of phone-bank calls to Mainers.