For everyone who kvetched about GLBT rights and President Obama, this is how you do it, he can go back later and fill in the blanks.
Los Angeles Times- The Maryland Senate passed a gay marriage bill Thursday by a 25-22 vote, sending it to Gov. Martin O’Malley, who sponsored the bill and is likely to sign it soon. Maryland would become the eighth state to allow same sex couples to marry, though opponents have vowed to force a public vote on the issue in November.
“I know today we are going to make history because we are going to take another important step towards embracing every family in the state of Maryland,” Sen. Richard Madaleno, who is openly gay, said on the floor before the vote.
Now that the bill has passed the General Assembly, its opponents are free to start gathering the 55,736 signatures – 3% of the number of votes cast at the last gubernatorial election – that they need to trigger a referendum. Church groups and conservatives have said they have plans in place to start the petition drive.
A third of the signatures need to be submitted to the State Board of Elections by May 31, with the rest by June 30.
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