Maryland Senate President Thomas V.
“Mike” Miller on Thursday predicted Maryland would become the
seventh state with gay marriage next year, The
Washington Post
reported.
Proponents of gay marriage petitioned
Democratic Governor Martin O'Malley to sponsor the bill during next
year's legislative session, which begins in January, and O'Malley
announced last week that he would. The development comes 4
months after a similar bill died without a vote in the House of
Delegates after approval in the Senate.
Miller, a Democrat and an opponent of
marriage equality, told the paper that O'Malley's endorsement would
matter “not a whole lot.”
However, he does believe proponents
will get the measure to the House floor in the next session and it
will pass.
“I don't anticipate it is going to be
that difficult in the House,” Miller said.
The big change in the upcoming session,
Miller said, was the ease with which a recently approved
immigration-related bill was petitioned to the ballot by opponents.
The action should make it clear that a marriage equality bill would
face a similar fate, making it easier for fence-sitting delegates to
vote for it, Miller reasoned. He predicted the effort to repeal the
law would fail.