Students rally on the campus one last time in support of marriage equality on Monday. Voters upheld same-sex marriage, Question 6 on the state ballot, Tuesday night.
When it became clear Tuesday Maryland had become the first state in the country to uphold same-sex marriage on the ballot, residents cemented themselves in history.
Now, same-sex couples are just a few weeks away from being able to legally marry in the state. The law, which goes into effect Jan. 1, could lead to a ripple effect around the nation, said Sultan Shakir, Marylanders for Marriage Equality political director. Although Maryland joins six other states and the nation’s capital in legalizing same-sex marriage, its voters, along with Maine’s and Washington’s, are the first to vote in favor of the bill after 32 other states had turned it down.
Minnesota also took its first steps toward marriage equality when voters struck down an amendment that would have defined marriage as between a man and a woman in its state constitution.
“I think the tide is turning when it comes to views on marriage equality,” Shakir said.
Tuesday’s state vote was the culmination of a long and arduous journey for many legislators. Supporters watched time after time as same-sex marriage continually hit roadblocks on its path to legalization, particularly during lawmakers’ concentrated push over the last two years. Hours after the House of Delegates voted the bill back to committee in March 2011 — the second time marriage equality legislation had failed since 2008 — Del. Heather Mizeur (D-Montgomery) released a statement that spoke to her and her partner’s frustration and determination.
“Deborah and I are among more than 15,000 families in our state that are heartbroken today. But we are not without hope,” she said. “Today, the House of Delegates recommitted marriage equality legislation to committee. Tomorrow, we must recommit ourselves to the hard work of protecting our families without marriage to back us up.”
And when Gov. Martin O’Malley signed marriage equality into law last March, the bill’s sponsors anticipated the opposition’s next move: Almost immediately, Republican lawmakers launched an effort that would eventually gather three times the signatures needed to put the issue before voters. However, advocates worked to mobilize with equal fervor, and the “heart-fought” battle, as Mizeur recently called the struggle at a rally on the campus, resolved Tuesday. Voters passed Question 6 on the state ballot, making Maryland the first state to pass a marriage equality referendum.
“We worked for two years to pass the bill through the legislature and then immediately had to turn ourselves toward the campaign to win on referendum,” Mizeur said. “While we don’t ever want to put the rights of the minority to the vote of the majority, it gave us an opportunity to win twice.”
The victory was equally meaningful for students. Growing up, Talia Brown said she often wondered what civil rights cause would define her generation. After coming to this university, the junior family science major said she came to believe it would be maintaining a separation between religion and government.
“I strongly believe that the struggle to reconcile LGBT issues belongs in the religious sphere. In the public sphere, I’m not even sure what there is to reconcile,” Brown said. “Fifty years from now, when we look back on this issue and era, we will not only be on the right side of history, but also the first state to take a stance and set the precedent that other states understood was the right one.”
Marriage equality in this state could not have been possible without the leadership of O’Malley and members of the state’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community, Shakir said. And the cause gained momentum among college-aged voters with student leaders rallying on the campus and passionately working to register and educate their peers.
The Student Government Association and the Graduate Student Government passed resolutions in favor of marriage equality in September based on student interest and support for the bill. Other campus groups and organizations joined, organizing rallies and events to raise awareness for Question 6.
“We’re proud that we organized students around a common belief — that all students, regardless of sexual orientation, should be treated equally under the law,” said Matt Arnstine, SGA communications director.
The accomplishment called for a diverse coalition and a crossing of party lines, generations, races and faiths, Mizeur said.
“I found in the General Assembly, so many of my colleagues who were willing to vote for this because they were inspired by their high school and college-aged children who encouraged them to step up for fairness,” Mizeur said. “We all came together to stand for something bigger than ourselves, a belief that Maryland can and will live up to its full and vibrant potential.”
Tuesday’s vote marks a monumental step in the state’s move toward equality, said James Titcomb, a sophomore cell biology and genetics major, at a Stamp Student Union marriage equality rally Monday.
“It means that some of my friends and family that I know, including myself, will actually be able to be equal under the eyes of Maryland state law,” he said.
