Same-Sex Marriage Opponents Vow It Won't Come To Maryland
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (WJZ) -- Defenders of traditional marriage join together to counter Governor Martin O'Malley's attempt to legalize same-sex marriage in Maryland.
Politcal reporter Pat Warren reports some of the state's most vocal opponents are leading the charge.
Legalizing same-sex marriage is a personal crusade for some members of the Maryland General Assembly.
"I was the first person in the legislature to say, `I'm happy to be here, and you know what? I'm gay!'" said Delegate Maggie McIntosh.
Limiting marriage to one man, one woman is a personal crusade for others.
"This is our position and this is our stand. We have a fight on our hands," said Pastor Emmett Burns.
Religious leaders and traditional marriage supporters from around the state joined Delegate and Pastor Emmett Burns to protest Governor Martin O'Malley's effort to legalize same-sex marriage while protecting religious freedoms.
"And I believe New York showed that you could do those things," said O'Malley.
"Maryland is not New York!" said Burns.
"We intend to hold their feet to the fire. Martin O'Malley needs to understand that the people of Maryland do not want marriage redefined," said Robert Broadus.
"We don't want it to happen and that's what we're gearing up for, " said one man.
"We are not taking the Pontius Pilate position on this. We are not washing our hands of it. We don't want it in our churches, we don't want it in communities, we don't want it anyplace," said Burns.
They say marriage restricted to one man, one woman is not about hate.
"God has established a man and a woman to be married, to procreate, but that doesn't take away from the fact that God loves everyone unconditionally," said Bishop Angel Nunez.
In this case, love is the battlefield.
"All of us want our children to grow up in homes that are stable and secure and loving and committed and protected equally under the law and that's what this is about," said O'Malley.
A same-sex marriage bill passed the Maryland Senate this year but failed to get a vote on the floor of the House of Delegates.
