Maryland same-sex marriage advocates were quite positive that last Friday would be a day that they would all celebrate for years to come…the day that same-sex marriage cleared its last major hurdle on its path to becoming legal in the state of Maryland. Instead, same-sex marriage was tossed back to committee, effectively killing the bill for at least another year. Not a few of the bill’s supporters seemed to “abandon ship” once they realized that they would have to go on record with a vote that too many of their constituents opposed.
The advocates of the bill, realizing they didn’t have the votes for a majority, tabled the bill “rather than risk more defections – and a defeat on the House floor that might prove a damaging precedent for the legislation’s prospect in Maryland and elsewhere,” stated an editorial in the Washington Post.
The message: the majority of citizens do not support same-sex marriage, even in “blue states” like Maryland. The message seems to be repeated again and again – state after state. Another message: when people step up and demand that their representatives “represent” them – things happen. That won’t stop gay advocates from continuing their crusade and claiming that they “are on the right side of history.”
But this is a major victory that should instill confidence and a renewed sense of purpose in all those who believe that marriage has a purpose beyond companionship; that children have a right to both their mother and father in a stable, married relationship; and that the lessons of the millennia are clear – societies support and privilege male/female relationships because they are essential to the future.
Let’s be aware and lend support to the citizens of Maryland as this battle continues.
Maryland Gay Marriage Dies with No Final Vote
Maryland gay marriage bill moved back
Maryland Churches instrumental in defeating same-sex marriage