Democratic presidential candidate
Martin O'Malley said Friday that he's “most proud” of “standing
up for marriage equality as a human right.”
O'Malley made his remarks at the Iowa
Spirit Awards in Des Moines, Iowa. The event, hosted by Iowa Safe
Schools, celebrates LGBT youth and educators.
At the event, O'Malley touted his
record on LGBT rights.
“As Mayor of Baltimore, I signed the
state's first anti-transgender discrimination bill,” O'Malley
told the audience. “As Governor of Maryland, I expanded our
state's longstanding protections against discrimination.”
“But perhaps what I'm most proud of
is standing up for marriage equality as a human right,” he
added.
While O'Malley has been criticized for not endorsing
marriage equality until his second term as governor, there is little
doubt he played a pivotal role in passage of a marriage bill in
Maryland and defending it from a repeal attempt.
“But our fight is not over,” he
said, a reference to the Supreme Court's June ruling striking down
gay marriage bans nationwide.
“Nowhere is this work more important
than when it comes to preventing and addressing bullying. Today in
America, no child should be excluded from getting a safe, quality
education.”
“That's why, as president, I would
embrace a comprehensive agenda to tackle bullying in every school,”
O'Malley pledged.
The presidential candidate also
reiterated his support for the Equality Act, which seeks to prohibit
anti-LGBT discrimination in seven key areas, including credit,
education, employment, federal funding, housing, jury service and
public accommodations, by effectively expanding the Civil Rights Act,
originally approved in 1964.