A bill to legalize same sex marriage in Maryland passed in the Maryland House of Delegates 71-67 late Friday evening. The next step is for approval by the Maryland State Senate. Governor Martin O’Malley (D: Maryland) praised the House passage of the bill.
“Today, the House of Delegates voted for human dignity,” O’Malley said. “Speaker Busch and his fellow Delegates deserve a lot of credit for their hard work. At its heart, their vote was a vote for Maryland’s children.
“There is still work to be done and marriage equality has not yet been achieved in Maryland. Wherever we happen to stand on the marriage equality issue, we can agree that all our children deserve the opportunity to live in a loving, caring, committed, and stable home, protected equally under the law.
“Clergy and faith-based leaders, community leaders, civic organizations, civil rights groups, and citizens from across our State have reached the same conclusion that Americans in seven other states have reached – it is possible to protect individual civil marriage rights and religious freedom equally.
“Now, as the Senate prepares to vote, all of us are needed – and we’re prepared to redouble our efforts. The common thread running through our efforts together in Maryland is the thread of human dignity; the dignity of work, the dignity of faith, the dignity of family, the dignity of every individual. Love is an unalienable right.”
The bill needed 71votes to pass. The Senate passed a same sex marriage law last year, but the vote failed in the House.
Earlier this week, Washington’s Governor Christine Gregoire (D) signed a same sex marriage bill in to law making that state the seventh state to legalize same sex marriage. A bill also passed in New Jersey, but was vetoed by Governor Chris Christie (R: New Jersey) late Friday evening.
