WATERVILLE -- Gayle Doughty, of Waterville, wanted to marry her partner, Dawn, within the next year.

But based on election results that came into focus Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, that won't be happening in Maine.

Voters said "yes" on Question 1, repealing the state's new same-sex marriage law. With 98 percent of the state's precincts reporting, the unofficial vote was 52.79 percent for the repeal and 47.21 percent against it.

Doughty said Wednesday she's "disappointed" in the outcome, because of how it affects her plans and the broader message she feels it sends.

"There are a lot of ignorant people out there that don't know what they're talking about," Doughty said Wednesday. "They don't know; they get the wrong picture. Everybody should have the right to marry the people they love."

For the 37-year-old Doughty, the repeal of the same-sex marriage law is a call to action. On Wednesday, Doughty said she would contact the No on 1/ Protect Maine Equality campaign to inquire about helping with same-sex marriage efforts in the future, she said. Through her involvement, Doughty said she hopes "to make it so more people get information about it (same-sex marriage) and are able to understand it, so the law goes through."

Doughty said the repeal will have immediate implications for same-sex friends of hers in Skowhegan, who had already made arrangements to get married that now must be canceled.

Katie Kurz, 28, and Alex Patel, 37, of Hampden, said they too had wanted to marry soon, though they had not set a date or made arrangements yet. They have a 9-year-old daughter.

The outcome of Question 1 was a "heart-wrenching loss," Kurz said.

"My 87-year-old grandfather is an advocate for equal marriage rights; he wants nothing more than to see us get married, and I want nothing more than for him to walk us down the aisle," Kurz said. "I want him to see that; he deserves to see that. I hope with every piece of me that he does."

Penny Guisinger, of the Washington County town of Trescott, spoke last month in a debate on Question 1 at Unity College. Guisinger and her partner, Kara McCrimmon, who both work at the nonprofit Cobscook Community Learning Center in Trescott Township, said that, in a way, nothing really changes for the two of them following the results.

"My partner and I are both working today; I have my first cello lesson tonight; we'll keep going to work, paying our taxes, shopping locally and all that stuff we do," Guisinger said. "We're going to continue to be full participants in civil society, but just continue to do without the same civil rights that are enjoyed by our straight neighbors, friends and coworkers. And that's the shameful piece to grapple with."

McCrimmon said that dissonance is difficult to deal with, especially in light of statements from same-sex marriage opponents who "said we had to vote yes or otherwise it would be legitimizing this way of life. What does it mean when you tell a section of your population you're not legitimate?"

"That's the toll this whole thing has taken on people, on both sides," she said. "It's looking at neighbors who say the way you live is not legitimate, and for same-sex couples, finding resilience in that."

Kurz said she finds solace by taking the long view.

"The fact that we lost is a bump in the road. It's not a stopper for us. There's no doubt in our mind the fight for marriage equality is not an 'if'; it's a 'when.'"

Scott Monroe -- 861-9253

smonroe@centralmaine.com