Maryland Delegate Tiffany Alston says she is now ready to vote for a gay marriage bill which stalled out in a House committee Tuesday.

Alston is one of two members of the House Judiciary Committee who missed yesterday's early morning vote, forcing Chairman Joseph Vallario, who opposes the gay marriage bill, to delay the vote. The bill, which was approved by the Senate last week, was on track for a final vote in the House by Friday. That estimate looks less likely after Tuesday's action.

A slim majority of committee members, including Alston and the second no-show, Delegate Jill Carter, had previously pledged their support for the measure.

Alston, a freshman Democrat, told the Baltimore Sun on Tuesday that she was reconsidering her position.

“It's a very important, deeply personal issue,” she told the paper. “I need time to think it through. I need time to pray.”

In a statement released Wednesday, Alston said she believed “all people should be treated equally regardless of their sexual orientation.”

“As a law maker it is my duty and privilege to serve the people and try to find balance and equity where inequity exits. This duty is compounded when your personal religious belief are contrary to what you believe to be fundamentally right for society.”

“Accordingly, I have resolved that if and when the chairman calls the vote I will be ready to vote based on what I believe is right,” she added.

Carter explained that she was withholding her support to bring attention to other issues she views as “more important, or at least equally important.”