We will not forget the feeling just one year ago, when Californians awoke to learn that our right to marry had been stripped away. Our hearts go out to those in Maine who are feeling that same devastating blow, as voters Tuesday passed a Proposition 8-style measure overturning the state’s marriage equality law.

Maine was poised to become the fifth state in the United States to recognize same-sex marriage in May 2009, after the measure was passed by the state Senate and House of Representatives and signed into law by Gov. John Baldacci. The issue was placed on the statewide ballot after opponents to marriage equality submitted enough signatures for a people’s veto referendum.

Despite a strong pro-marriage equality grassroots effort in Maine, an attack campaign by anti-gay forces won the battle over Maine’s same-sex marriage law.

We are saddened to see fear-based lies once again trump the truth about same-sex couples and our families.

While disappointed at the loss in Maine, we are able to see a silver lining in Washington, where the people of that state joined together voicing a strong ‘Yes’ for equality with Referendum 71.

In that same state, a bill to expand domestic partner benefits was passed in May 2009 and signed into law by Gov. Christine Gregoire.

The measure was placed on the ballot after opponents collected enough signatures to qualify for a referendum. The law provides state-registered same-sex and senior domestic partners with the same state-level benefits that married couples enjoy. Voters in Washington approved the new law by passing the initiative on Tuesday to affirm domestic partnerships.

As Washington state continues its conversation about the inequalities of same-sex couples and their families face, the fight will continue for the freedom to marry in Maine, and across the country, as wins in three other states just this year along with growing national support for the freedom to marry clearly show that momentum is on the side of fairness and equality.

Meanwhile, in Kalamazoo, Mich., voters approved a nondiscrimination ordinance that covers sexual orientation and gender identity. The ordinance prevents gay and transgender people from being fired from their jobs for being openly gay or transgender.

People from all walks of life – faith leaders, labor unions, teachers, civil rights leaders and communities of color, Republicans, Democrats, and Independents, public officials, local school boards and city councils, moms and dads, and businesses – joined together with national, state and local GLBT organizations and individuals from around the country to work for the defeat of these discriminatory referenda.

In addition to the thousands of volunteers and hundreds of organizations that joined the fight for the freedom to marry, political leaders from Maine to Washington and across the United States, such as President Barack Obama, Maine Gov. John Baldacci, and Washington Governor Chris Gregoire, spoke out against these discriminatory measures.

We tip our hat to the tireless commitment of state and local campaigns in support of GLBT equality led by Protect Maine Equality, One Kalamazoo and Washington Families Standing Together, along with hundreds of volunteers, as well as representatives from national organizations.

They have literally and figuratively opened many more doors for our community as we continue to work toward full equality. The conversations these trailblazers began lays the groundwork for our victory in the coming years.

While work continues in Maine and Washington, the focus now shifts to New York, New Jersey, and the District of Columbia, where bills are currently being considered to end the exclusion of same-sex couples from marriage. The same faction of anti-gay groups who stripped away marriage equality from our families in California and Maine now have their sights on those areas.

There is no time to let our setbacks bring us down, and we must remain vigilant. Our opposition lacks shame and integrity, and is willing to do whatever it takes to misinform and scare the public about our lives.

Let’s be clear: while they frame their call for discrimination as a voting rights issue, it is nothing more than a manipulative and politically motivated attack on same-sex couples and our families.

Regardless of how Tuesday’s vote turned out, the campaign for marriage equality started an important conversation in Maine that will continue in the months and years ahead. More people than ever are aware of the harm caused by prohibiting same-sex couples the rights and protections obtained by marriage – forcing us to second-class citizenship.

We’ve stated it before and we will state it again: the rights of a minority should not be decided upon by a simple majority vote.

Our founding fathers did not intend for people’s Constitutional rights to be dominated by a majority and their politically manipulative campaigns.

As with California and now Maine, the question remains not if, but when the nation will endorse marriage equality for all people.