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Why Is Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley Suddenly In Support of Same-Sex Marriage?

Is Maryland’s Democratic Gov. Martin O’Malley suddenly on board with legalizing same-sex marriage there? The Catholic governor, who’s up for re-election in November, last year criticized D.C.’s Catholic Church for threatening to yank its social services programs upon the legalization of same-sex marriage. Is he finally ready to hold himself to a similar standard?

“I don’t have a crystal ball to predict how this goes,” O’Malley today told WTOP radio, “but I do know this: I know the people of our state well enough that for all of the differences and diversities of backgrounds and opinions, that all of us want to find a way to craft our laws in such a way that it treats people equally under the law.” And while O’Mally thinks civil unions for gays are good enough, “should the legislature find a way to reach that compromise in another way, I would sign a bill like that … we need to find a way to support equal rights, and that is true when it comes to committed gay and lesbian couples and the unions in which they choose to enter and raise children and all the issues that go with that.”

Is that a change of course? Not according to his spokesman Shaun Adamec, who insists O’Malley has always said he’d sign a gay marriage bill if it reached his desk. Which, huh, might not be entirely accurate. Last year he voiced support for recognizing other states’ marriage laws, but thus far he’s been a civil union guy.

O’Malley heads into November facing Robert Leroy Ehrlich Jr., who’s very firm on his support of marriage discrimination.

EARLIER:
What’s the Best Way for Maryland to Score Gay Marriage? For Now, Wait

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