Baltimore Mayor Stephanie
Rawlings-Blake is the latest politician to join the Human Rights
Campaign's (HRC) Marylanders for Marriage Equality campaign.
“I believe that all couples in
Maryland, regardless of their sexual orientation, want their children
protected under the law,” Rawlings-Blake says in her 50-second ad.
“Just as a straight couple's commitment to family is legally
recognized, so too should a gay couple's commitment be recognized by
our state government.”
“It's only fair. It's only right.
And our state must act to make it so,” she later adds. (The video
is embedded in the right panel of this page. Visit
our video library for more videos.)
Carrie Evans, executive director of
Equality Maryland, thanked the mayor for her support.
“The mayor has been a longtime
supporter of committed gay and lesbian couples getting married and
building strong families,” she said in a statement.
Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley, who
has committed to shepherding a gay marriage bill through the Maryland
Legislature during the upcoming legislative session, kicked off the
video campaign in October.
In his ad, O'Malley
argues that marriage equality and religious freedoms can coexist.
Pressure from religious groups has been credited with ending last
year's effort, which failed in the House of Delegates after passage
in the Senate.
Also joining the campaign are NAACP
Chairman Emeritus Julian
Bond, Precious star Mo'Nique
and Baltimore Ravens linebacker Brendon
Ayanbadejo.
(Related: Cleveland
Browns' Scott Fujita urges Americans to support gay marriage.)