Marriage Dead in Maryland?

Two delegates whose yes votes are needed to pass marriage equality in Maryland were nowhere to be found during a scheduled vote Thursday, and now Sam Arora, who cosponsored the bill, is reportedly planning to vote no.

By Advocate.com Editors

Two delegates whose yes votes are needed to pass marriage equality in Maryland were nowhere to be found during a scheduled vote Thursday, and now Sam Arora, who cosponsored the bill, is reportedly planning to vote no.

Del. Jill Carter has pledged support for the bill but was out sick today (previously she raised concerns about the legislation). Arora, who has been wavering on his support for the bill, reportedly told Del. Kumar Barve he's now planning to vote against it. He was missing in action for the scheduled vote Thursday.

"I don't know what to think," Barve, who is the lead sponsor of the bill, told Metro Weekly Thursday night. "He told me that he was going to vote against it on the floor. I've been in the legislature for quite a while and nothing is a reality until you actually push the button. And these are hard issues. But he came to me and told me that he was having difficulty with the concept of it."

Arora campaigned heavily on a gay rights platform, including support for marriage equality. On Thursday, he tweeted that he had been "hearing from constituents, friends. Please keep sending your thoughts (sam.arora@house.state.md.us). Thinking & praying hard."

Barve said he has no idea what caused Arora to change his mind.

"Is it unusual for a sponsor to change his mind on a piece of legislation that they've sponsored? No, it's not. People do that all the time, but not on big social issues like this. It's somewhat unheard of."

Hours before the decision to delay the vote, Gov. Martin O'Malley urged lawmakers to pass the legislation.

There is a chance a vote could happen Friday — 12 votes are needed to pass.

Read the full story here.

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Maryland Holdout Says Yes to Marriage

By Advocate.com Editors

Maryland delegate Jill Carter is no longer holding hostage a vote for marriage equality, saying important issues she wanted addressed have been discussed and she's now ready to back the bill.

Carter, a Democrat, said she was ready to vote no on the bill Tuesday night because she wants $15 million in funding restored to Baltimore schools and passage of her bill to more evenly divide child custody for divorced parents.

"I was always ready to vote for the bill," she said Wednesday. "There were some things that I wanted to have discussed and I knew if we took the vote first, they wouldn't be discussed. They were discussed [Tuesday]. I was happy. I'm content and ready to vote for the bill."

Earlier, she said she was willing to take a hit for withdrawing her support if it makes a larger point about her favored issues.

According to the The Baltimore Sun, on Tuesday, Carter said she didn't see the need to "fast-track" marriage since the 90-day session is only about half over and lawmakers are in their first year of a four-year term.

On Wednesday, another potential holdout, Delegate Tiffany Alston, committed a yes vote to the marriage equality bill, saying she, like many other delegates, had wanted more time to weigh her final decision, but ultimately feels that “all people should be treated equally regardless of their sexual orientation.”

The marriage equality bill has already passed the Maryland state senate, and a vote in the general assembly was expected Tuesday night but failed to happen. A vote is likely this week.

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