(Maryland) Gay marriage has the votes to pass state Senate

[Orangepeel]

If the narrow majority holds together through what is expected to be a contentious floor debate — and the possibility of amendments — the legislation would move to the House of Delegates, where supporters believe it would pass.

Gov. Martin O'Malley has said he would sign such a bill. Opponents could then petition for a referendum to overturn it, which would give voters the final say.

Passage would make Maryland the sixth state to recognize same-sex unions. Gay marriage is also legal in the District of Columbia.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/bs-md-same-sex-marriage-committee-vot20110217,0,7156122.story?page=2

:bounce:

[sakabatou]

1. Yay for equal rights!

[Rosa Luxemburg]

2. Good!

[Motown_Johnny]

3. good for the Senate and Gov. But we have seen how votes go

is there any reason to believe this one will be different?

Is anyone working on this yet?

[Orangepeel]

4. it's not a done deal, but I'm hopeful

From the Sun:

Citizens have the right to petition any act of the General Assembly to referendum, although it happens rarely on statewide issues. A petition would need 55,736 signatures to get on the ballot, -- difficult, certainly, but on an issue like this, hardly insurmountable. For context, the petition that put the Arundel Mills slots casino on the ballot collected 22,000 signatures in Anne Arundel County alone, though in fairness that effort benefitted from the backing of the Maryland Jockey Club, which hired professional canvassers.

Opponents of gay marriage would have to submit a third of the signatures, 18,579 of them, by June 1 and the rest within 30 days after that. If they meet those deadlines, the law would be prevented from going into effect until after the public voted on the issue in November. Thus, Maryland would not have a situation like the one in California in which thousands of same-sex couples were married in the period between a court ruling declaring gay marriage legal and the approval of a voter referendum that outlawed it.

What would happen in a statewide vote on the issue is anyone's guess. Gay marriage has suffered a string of defeats at the ballot box in other states, but the latest polling on the question in Maryland found majority support for gay marriage. Public opinion is steadily moving in that direction, and supporters appear to have the energy and momentum on their side.

http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/2011/02/whats_next_for_gay_marriage.html