Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley on
Thursday applauded passage in the state Senate of his plan to make
Maryland the eighth state to legalize gay marriage.
Democratic
senators approved the bill with the help of one Republican,
Senator Allan Kittleman.
Kittleman said on the Senate floor that
marriage equality is the “civil rights issue of our generation.”
This was the second time the chamber
has approved the measure. A gay marriage bill cleared the Senate
last year before it was ultimately shelved in the House of Delegates
due to lack of support.
The House joined the Senate last week
in approving marriage equality.
“I'd like to thank Senate President
[Mike] Miller for his leadership and our legislators in the Senate
for their hard work and their vote today for human dignity,” Martin
said in a statement.
“All children deserve the opportunity
to live in a loving, caring, committed and stable home, protected
equally under the law. The common thread running through our efforts
together in Maryland is the thread of human dignity, the dignity of
work, the dignity of faith, the dignity of family, the dignity of
every individual.”
Martin, who brought
two African-American ministers with him to a committee hearing to
testify in favor of the measure, also thanked faith-based leaders for
their support.