There were high hopes that Maine would make history Tuesday by being the first state to legalize same-sex marriage at the ballot box. Instead, it became the 31st state to vote it down.

MaineToday Media's newspapers endorsed a "no" vote on Question 1 on Tuesday, which would have allowed a new inclusive marriage statute to go on the books. So, you can count us among the disappointed today.

We still believe that society has changed and the law needs to change to keep up with it. We think that over time, as people get used to the idea of same-sex marriage in New Hampshire, Vermont, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Iowa, civil marriage for gay and lesbian couples will not be so alien. We thought that time had come already, but we were wrong.

During the campaign, supporters of marriage equality said that Maine was different from other states and that its independent streak and live-and-let-live ethos would be enough to carry the day. We found that Maine is not as different as we'd thought.

The same television ads that scared voters in California last year into believing that "homosexual marriage" would be taught to young schoolchildren if the law changed were recycled for use in Maine. They worked there, and they worked here.

The ads were unfair because they created the false impression that changing the marriage law would control school curriculum, which remains the responsibility of local school boards. But denials from education experts and the state attorney general did not quiet those fears.

In the end, Election Day brought two surprises – the size of the turnout and the margin of victory for the people's veto. This was not the close race both sides had predicted. The "yes" vote total was over 30,000 more than the vote to support marriage equality, and the geographical split was more extreme. Only four out of 16 counties voted in favor of same-sex marriage, and Cumberland County was the only one of them in which the race wasn't close.

Clearly, if a measure like this ever goes up for another statewide vote, a lot of work would need to be done outside the Portland area to get voters there used to the idea that families can take many different forms.

In the meantime, same-sex marriage supporters should consider a proposal that their opponents made during the campaign. On many occasions, people's veto supporters said they were against redefining marriage but would support civil unions that convey the rights and responsibilities of marriage without the name.

Separate but equal is not equal, and civil unions should not be where this ends. But, as the leaders of the same-sex marriage campaign said Wednesday, this is going to be a long journey.

The political reality in Maine may mean that it has to be taken in small steps. One approach would be getting the legal protections first, and going back for the dignity and respect that comes with the word "marriage" later.

Maine was not ready to make history Tuesday, but the struggle for equal protection under the law for all of its citizens should keep moving forward.