An amendment to ban gay marriage and civil unions in Wisconsin won a majority of votes Tuesday in every county except Dane, joining 27 other states with similar bans.
But for many Madison residents, the ban's success represents a dark hour in state politics.
""[This] sends an unfortunate message to younger people and a feeling of being disenfranchised,"" said Rev. Trisha Brown of Madison Christian Community, who is also a lesbian and was an active supporter of Fair Wisconsin for the past year.
Although religious groups provided most of the public support for the ban, Madison's Christian community was split over the issue.
Nicole Frame, a junior in the Journalism School and active Christian, said politics should not include religion.
""I am ashamed to be a part of a state that bans basic civil rights for all of its citizens,"" Frame said.
On the other side of the spectrum are conservatives who believe the Bible specifically condemns marriage between same-sex couples.
""As a Christian, I can't ignore what God says about marriage,"" said Rick Bruess, a UW-Madison senior.
Brown said people could use the Bible to support any issue they want, but in the end, people need to be constitutionally protected.
Turnout for the election was one of the highest in Wisconsin history, especially among college students, and showed how important the ban was to Madison.
""Madison's vote shows that we care deeply about equality,"" said Janet Piraino, chief of staff for Mayor Dave Cieslewicz. She said the Mayor's office will try to fight the impact of the ban on domestic partner benefits.
""Locally, the ban had a huge impact on voter turnout,"" Piraino said. ""It was a battle that was fought on the ground, completely a grassroots effort that we want to see continued. That is what bodes well for Madison.""
The gay population at UW-Madison is already speaking out against the ban. Erica Diaz, a sophomore from Chicago, said prohibiting gay marriage parallels the ban on inter-racial marriage that used to be in place.
""I don't think people should have the right to tell me who I can and cannot marry,"" Diaz said.
Though the ban passed in the majority of the state, lawsuits are expected to arise against the decision within the next year and opponents have vowed not to end their lobbying against the marriage amendment.
Piraino said Cieslewicz is fully behind efforts to overturn the ban.
""In the not-to-distant future, people will take a look at the impact of writing discrimination into our state constitution and they will want to reverse that,"" Piraino said.
