Paul Singer, a major donor to
Republican candidates, has given $250,000 to the campaign seeking to
uphold Maryland's gay marriage law.
Singer is the founder of New York-based
hedge-firm Elliot Management and a major donor – reported to be in
the millions – to the campaign to elect Mitt Romney.
The donation matches last week's
announcement that New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, also a key GOP
contributor, donated
$250,000 to Marylanders for Marriage Equality, the coalition of
groups working to approve Question 6 on November 6.
“His investment in equality and
dignity of Marylanders reflects the growing bipartisan support to get
Question 6 over the finish in these critical final weeks,” Chad
Griffin, president of the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation's
largest gay rights advocate, said of Singer's gift.
Singer, who is straight but has a gay
son who married his husband in Massachusetts, the first state to
legalize such unions, has given nearly $10 million of his own money
toward efforts to legalize gay nuptials in New York, New Hampshire
and New Jersey. He also provided $1
million towards the America Unity PAC, a political committee for
Republican candidates who support marriage equality.
Marylanders for Marriage Equality last
week reported having raised $3.3 million for Question 6, while the
Maryland Marriage Alliance, the group working to defeat the measure,
reported raising a more modest $838,621.