At a rally in support of gay marriage last night in the state capital of Anapolis, Maryland governor Martin O’Malley told the crowd that the House still needs “a couple more votes” to pass the bill.
According to the AP, the bill is moving very fast and could hit the House floor as early as this week.
At a hearing on the matter last Friday, the Washington Post says emotions were high. O’Malley appeared alongside two African-American religious ministers, who said that they support O’Malley’s gay-marriage efforts despite the fact that their Church sees marriage as between a man and a woman.
A recent poll showed that 50% of MD residents support marriage equality, while 44% oppose it. O’Malley’s attempt to woo religious African-Americans might be a politically savvy one, seeing as that poll also showed that 53% of African-American Democrats oppose gay marriage and 41% support it.
Photo via mediacutts
Robert in NYC
But doesn’t Maryland have that ridiculously undemocratic mob rule referendum option?
mdthom
@Robert in NYC: Yes, unfortunately we do.
Dawn Davenport
A Washington Post poll published on Jan. 30 found that 71 percent of white respondents supported the gay marriage bill, while 24 percent did not. Among blacks, 41 percent were supportive, while 53 percent were opposed.