An article from the Associated Press examines the renewed focus some gay activists and community leaders are putting on civil unions in the wake of the recent marriage equality setback in Maine.

Proponents of the civil unions strategy point to the approval of Question 1, which repealed the marriage equality law in Maine, on the same day that voters in Washington State approved a referendum to uphold an expanded domestic-partnership law for same-sex couples. They also cite domestic-partnership advances in Nevada and Colorado, two states that have passed constitutional bans on same-sex marriage.

“In the weeks since Maine voters handed the gay marriage movement its 27th electoral defeat in five years, other activists have voiced similar qualms about making marriage their main goal,” reports the AP. “Gay rights leaders have insisted that anything less than full marriage equality is unacceptable, but some are asking whether the uncompromising strategy has forestalled interim steps that could improve the lives of gay men, lesbians and their families.”

Read the fuller analysis of the civil unions debate here.