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In the January issue of Baltimore, writer Justin Snow previews the prospects that a gay marriage bill will pass the Maryland legislature this year after such a measure failed last year in "Gay Marriage, Take Two." Maryland would be the sixth state to legalize gay marriage and the bill seemed to have enough support to pass last year, until a strong campaign against it—organized largely by local religious communities—derailed it.
This year, both sides are gearing up for another fight—and, again, religious groups are among the most vocal. A group called Maryland Marriage Alliance held news conferences late last year to announce its plans to oppose any gay marriage bill. “God created marriage as a union of one man and one woman as surely as he created the very universe in which we live,” Minister Daryl Brace of the Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church said at one conference at East Baltimore's Apostolic Faith Church. The group, which brings together leaders from several religious groups plans a series of sermons about gay marriage and a rally for "traditional marriage."
As with last year, Equality Maryland leads the charge in support of the bill and this year, they've helped produce a series of videos featuring Governor Martin O'Malley, former NAACP chairman Julian Bond, Baltimore Raven Brendon Ayanbadejo, and Baltimore-born actress Mo'Nique voicing their support of the bill.
Also, some religious leaders are voicing their support for same-sex marriage legislation this year. On February 4th, Rabbi Daniel Burg of Beth Am Synagogue in Reservoir Hill (who we profiled here) and Pastor Andrew Foster Conners of Brown Memorial Presbyterian Church in Bolton Hill will co-sponsor an event called "The Religious Case For Same-Sex Marriage."
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