US: Maryland will vote on marriage equality
Maryland will vote on the issue of marriage equality this November after opponents gathered enough support to challenge the state’s new gay marriage law.
The Maryland Board of Elections verified today that the church-led Maryland Marriage Alliance had gathered more than enough signatures to put the issue on the ballot before the law takes effect in 2013.
According to the Baltimore Sun, the group turned in 162,224 signatures against the new marriage equality law – the most gathered on any referendum issue in recent memory.
Board of Elections officials reportedly stopped counting after verifying 109,313 of them.
Marylanders for Marriage Equality, which anticipated opponents would get the issue on the November ballot, remains positive that voters will side with gay couples.
Spokesman Kevin Nix told the newspaper: “Our base is fired up, momentum is with us.”
Maryland governor Martin O’Malley signed the marriage equality bill into law in March after the state’s Senate and House of Delegates approved it.
