Maryland parishes conducting petition drives to bring marriage law to a referendum
Maryland parishes conducting petition drives to bring marriage law to a referendum
RICHARD SZCZEPANOWSKI
Catholic Standard staff
Many Maryland parishes in the Archdiocese of Washington are conducting a petition drive this weekend (April 28-29) and next (May 5-6) to bring to referendum a recently passed state law that redefines marriage.
Conducted by the Maryland Marriage Alliance, the drive seeks to collect 55,700 valid signatures of registered Maryland voters in order to put on the November ballot the question of whether or not Maryland should legalize same-sex marriage.
On Feb. 23, the Maryland State Senate voted 25-22 to allow same-sex couples in the state to legally marry. Gov. Martin O'Malley - a Catholic who was the lead sponsor of the bill - signed the law as expected, making Maryland the eighth state in the nation to legalize same-sex marriage.