Marylanders to vote on same-sex marriage in November

A referendum to overturn Maryland’s same-sex marriage law will be on November’s ballot, according to the Maryland Catholic Conference. The state’s Board of Elections certified the measure today, affirming a successful petition drive organized by the Maryland Marriage Alliance to put the measure to popular vote.

 

The Board of Elections requires nearly 56,000 valid signatures to add a referendum. The Maryland Marriage Alliance submitted more than 162,000 signatures to Maryland’s Secretary of State by its June deadline.

 

A partner of the Maryland Marriage Alliance, the MCC said that the petition and a recent national Associated Press-GfK survey showing more people oppose same-sex marriage than support it “are indications of the true attitudes of Americans and Marylanders.”

 

The June 14-18 poll showed 42 percent of respondents opposing same-sex marriage, 40 percent supporting it and 15 percent neutral on the issue.

 

“While prominent politicians, deep-pocket donors and Hollywood stars try to influence Marylanders into believing that they aren’t ‘progressive’ enough, the average citizen of Maryland has enough common sense to know that marriage cannot be redefined; that a child comes from both a mother and a father; that marriage is the building block of society; and that it is not discriminatory to reserve marriage for one man and one woman,” the MCC said in a July 10 statement.

The MCC advocates for public policy on behalf of the state’s Catholic bishops.