Maine, Maryland vote to legalize gay marriage

Jim Mone | AP

State Auditor Rebecca Otto enters the RV at a stop in Edina, Minn., on the "Minnesota Votes No" statewide tour Monday, Nov. 5, 2012 in Minneapolis for the final day of the campaign to urge voters to vote against the marriage amendment. Candidates and volunteers worked Monday to make the most of their last 24 hours before decision day, hustling to energize their core supporters and searching for any remaining fence-sitters. Meanwhile, both political parties said they were gearing up like never before to watch the other for any electioneering on Tuesday. (AP Photo/Jim Mone)

Expand Photo

Jim Mone | AP

Cindy Reuther, left, and Mili Dutta, opponents of the gay marriage amendment on the Minnesota ballot, celebrate as early returns showed the amendment failing Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2012 in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/Jim Mone)

Expand Photo

Patrick Semansky | AP

Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., greets a passing driver in Baltimore, Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2012, as he campaigns for reelection. Voters are deciding between Democratic incumbent Ben Cardin, Republican challenger Dan Bongino and independent Rob Sobhani. Sobhani has made this Senate race different by entering in September and abruptly raising his profile by spending more than $5 million of his own money on his campaign (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

Expand Photo

Patrick Semansky | AP

Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley, center, speaks at a news conference in Baltimore, Monday, Nov. 5, 2012, in front of supporters of a ballot question that, if passed, would allow same-sex marriage in the state. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

Voters a continent apart made history Tuesday on two divisive social issues, with Maine and Maryland becoming the first states to approve same-sex marriage by popular vote while Washington state and Colorado legalized recreational use of marijuana. The outcomes in Maine and Maryland broke a 32-state streak, dating back to 1998, in which gay marriage had been rebuffed by every state that held a vote on it. They will become the seventh and eighth states to allow same-sex couples to marry. “For the first time, voters in Maine and Maryland voted to allow loving couples to make lifelong commitments through …