"GAY MARRIAGE" has been voted down every single time it has been on the ballot even in uber liberal California.  This begs the question: WHY?  The answer is simple:
GAY MARRIAGE is an oxymoron just like JUMBO SHRIMP i.e. the historical and current legal definition of the word MARRIAGE=HETEROSEXUAL UNION so the average voter either conciously (or subconciously) knows that a HETEROSEXUAL UNION can not be applied to homosexuals and so they vote it down! 

So now that I have clearly explained WHY it gets voted down we have a choice
1-forcibly legalize the oxymoron known as GAY MARRIAGE and in the process offend a few hundred million religious people while laying the groundwork for an onslaught of lawsuits vs churches that refuse to perform 'gay marriages'

or

2-legal CIVIL UNIONS for ALL couples hetero and homo thus giving everyone the SAME AND EQUAL rights while increasing the separation of church and state & pissing off nobody!