Same-Sex Marriage Gains Cheer Gay Rights Advocates Voters in Maine and Maryland approved same-sex marriage on a day of election results that jubilant gay rights advocates called a historic turning point, the first time that marriage for gay men and lesbians has been approved at the ballot box. In Minnesota, in another first, voters rejected a proposal to amend the State Constitution to define marriage as between a man and a woman, a measure that has been enshrined in the constitutions of 30 states. A state law barring same-sex marriage remains on the books there, but with the defeat of the amendment, the door remains open to change by the legislature or the courts. While six states and the District of Columbia have legalized same-sex marriage through judicial or legislative decisions, voters had rejected it more than 30 times in a row. Final results in Washington, the fourth state voting Tuesday on marriage equality, were not available Wednesday morning, but with half the votes reported, the proposal to legalize gay marriage had a small majority. Rights groups said the victories were an important sign that public opinion was shifting in their direction. "We have made history for marriage equality by winning our first victory at the ballot box," said Chad Griffin, the president of the Human Rights Campaign, which raised millions of dollars for the measures in the four states. In another sign of shifting public attitudes, a drive by social conservatives in Iowa to unseat David S. Wiggins, one of seven State Supreme Court justices who voted unanimously in 2007 to legalize same-sex marriage, fell short. Only two years ago, three other justices who faced similar electoral challenges were voted out as conservatives, backed by out-of-state donations, argued that the court had overstepped its role. Speaking Tuesday night from a victory party in Portland, Me., Matt McTighe, the campaign manager for Mainers United for Marriage, said, "A lot of families in Maine just became more stable and secure." By Wednesday, with 78 percent of the vote in, the count stood at 53.4 percent voting yes, and 46.6 percent voting no. In Baltimore, supporters of Maryland's referendum danced and cheered as balloons filled the air. With nearly all the vote counted by Wednesday, the tally in Maryland was 52 percent for same-sex marriage and 48 percent against. In Washington State, supporters of a referendum authorizing same-sex marriage appeared to have an edge, but final results were not available because ballots were still being mailed in as late as Tuesday. Laurie Carlsson, 33, stood on a freeway overpass on Tuesday with a sign urging drivers to honk for the referendum. It has been a constant theme of opponents of same-sex marriage that whenever the issue has been put before voters it has lost. This year, the legislatures in Washington and Maryland approved same-sex marriage, but opponents gathered enough signatures to force Tuesday's referendums. In Maine, since their loss in 2009, gay rights advocates have been cultivating public opinion in one-on-one conversations, and this year sponsored a repeat election and reversal of the verdict. In the final week of the campaign, the opponents of same-sex marriage, mainly financed by the National Organization for Marriage and the Roman Catholic Church, mounted a barrage of advertising and telephone appeals in all four states, trying to convince undecided voters that "redefining marriage" would force schools to "teach gay marriage" and require businesses and churches to violate religious principles.