Maryland Senate committee approves same-sex marriage bill
A Maryland senate committee approved a gay marriage bill Tuesday, pushing Maryland one step closer to having legalized same-sex marriage.
The Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee voted 7 to 4 in favor of the bill, according to Reuters, and the full Senate is expected to vote later t his week. Last week, the bill was approved by the lower house.
Last year, Maryland’s Senate passed an almost identical bill that ended up dying in the lower house.
“I believe the 25 votes that we had last year will hold,” Senator Jamie Raskin told Reuters. Raskin also mentioned he thinks the Senate may even have a few more affirmative votes than it did the previous time.
“Public opinion is changing quickly,” he said.
According to the Baltimore Sun, even opponents of the bill expect the full Senate to approve it this week.
If the Senate does in fact pass the bill, Maryland would become the eighth state to recognize same-sex marriage. However, the law would not go into effect until Jan. 1, which means it is most likely to end up on a voter referendum in Nov.
Members of the committee that did not want to see the bill pass tried making small amendments to the bill, according to the Baltimore Sun. This would force it back to the House, where it scraped a pass.
