(Maryland governor) O’Malley to sponsor same-sex marriage bill

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Source: The Washington Post

Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley said Friday that supporters of same-sex marriage will have to work hard to pick up additional votes next year, and he confirmed plans to put the full weight of his office behind the effort to pass a bill.

O’Malley (D), a Catholic who until recently advocated civil unions as an alternative, said at a news conference in Annapolis that legislation to legalize same-sex marriage would be “one of the handful of bills” that he’ll sponsor when the General Assembly convenes in January.

“At the end of the day, I think all of us need to look at this issue from the eyes of children of gay, committed couples and ask ourselves how one family could be protected less in the eyes of the law than another family,” O’Malley said, flanked by lawmakers who support the legislation. “I don’t think that’s an injustice that can be allowed to stand.”

A same-sex marriage bill narrowly passed the Maryland Senate during this year’s session but fell short in the House of Delegates. O’Malley had pledged to sign the bill if it reached his desk, but his efforts to get it there were largely confined to private conversations with lawmakers.

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/dc-politics/2011/07/22/gIQA78JIUI_story.html