An upcoming referendum on gay marriage
in Maryland is threatened by a gambling proposal, marriage equality
supporters say.
Maryland lawmakers approved and
Governor Martin O'Malley signed a measure legalizing gay marriage
earlier this year. The law won't take effect until January 1, 2013,
giving opponents sufficient time to attempt to repeal the law at the
ballot box in November.
O'Malley is also backing a proposal to
open the state's sixth casino to be built in conservative Prince
George County and is expected to introduce a draft bill to lawmakers
on Friday. If approved during a special session, voters would decide
on the measure in the fall.
“Gambling overwhelms every issue in
the state,” Chrys Kefalas, former legal counsel to former Governor
Robert L. Ehrlich Jr, told The
Washington Post. “This is a big fight with the potential
for collateral damage.”
A gambling measure on the fall ballot
“will energize a base of opponents who would also vote against
marriage equality at a time of soft support for marriage equality,”
he added.
Jeff Krehely, vice president for LGBT
research and communications at the Center for American Progress,
agreed: “Any campaign to defeat a new casino might entail religious
opponents to gambling coming out of the woodwork.”