Augusta - Fearing another bruising battle over gay rights in Maine, Lewiston Sen. Gerogette Berube said Tuesday she will withdraw her bill to prohibit same-sex marriages.

Berube said many factors led to her decision, including lack of time among legislators to fully debate the measure.

The veteran legislator also worried that despite her intentions to find a middle ground on the explosive issue, the debate would have turned ugly.

"We (could not) have assured the tone of the debate would have remained rational," she said.

Berube was lobbied by some of her legislative peers, who asked her to withdraw the bill so they wouldn't be forced to vote on it in an election year.

She said some legislators told her they favored the bill but would vote against it to avoid alienating the gay community and their liberal supporters.

"That gives you an idea of what's been going on in the back room," Berube said.

Karen Geraghty, president of the Maine Lesbian/Gay Political Alliance, praised Berube's decision.

"We applaud Sen. Berube's move today," Geraghty said. "We appreciate the fact that she is allowing for a cooling off period after Question 1," the statewide anti-gay measure defeated last November.

"The focus of the gay community and our supporters over the next year will be to talk to our coworkers and neighbors about the discrimination we face everyday," Geraghty said.

She added, "Gay people in Maine are concerned about an increase in the level of violence against us and about the discrimination we face in employment and housing. We hope education will provide relief from these realities."

Berube's bill would have amended Maine's marriage laws to expressly prohibit gay marriages. It also would have provided protection from discrimination for people who report hate crimes.