President Barack Obama on Tuesday
called on Maryland voters to oppose a proposed referendum which seeks
to repeal the state's gay marriage law.
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.
“We're moving forward to a country
where we treat everybody fairly and everybody equally, with dignity
and respect,” gay weekly the Washington
Blade quoted Obama as saying during a campaign fundraiser at
the Hyatt Regency in Baltimore. “And here in Maryland, thanks to
the leadership of committed citizens and Gov. O'Malley, you have a
chance to reaffirm that principle in the voting booth in November.
It's the right thing to do.”
While it is not the first time the
president has called for the defeat of a gay marriage ban, it is only
the second time since he endorsed gay marriage that he has made such
an endorsement in person. During a campaign stop last month in
Seattle, the president made a more oblique reference to that state's
November referendum.
(Related: Washington
gay marriage ban Referendum 74 qualifies for ballot.)
Josh Levin, campaign director for
Marylanders for Marriage Equality, said the group was “grateful the
president highlighted the marriage referendum in his remarks today.”
“Voters identify with his journey on
the issue and are re-thinking their own position on same-sex
marriage. A strong majority already realize this is about treating
gays and lesbian fairly under the law and about dignity for all
Maryland families, not just some families. The president's
history-making leadership on marriage equality has inspired new
conversations around kitchen tables and in church pews, not just in
Maryland but all over the country.”