by columnist Wendy Gordon
Oh sure. We can shoot off fireworks, dance in the streets and celebrate four more years here in DC. But guess what? There are 2 other states that are included in the DC Metro area. Their votes even count! No…really!!!
In Maryland, several watershed questions were on the ballot. There was Question 4, also known as the “Dream Act,” that gave thousands of undocumented college students in Maryland the right to receive in-state tuition. There was Question 7, which expands gambling to legalize table games like blackjack and a casino at National Harbor. Done and Done.
Then there was Question 6, which allows same sex couples in the state to legally marry. On Tuesday night, interested parties got together at Baltimore’s Sound Stage to watch the results. As the club’s several televisions tallied up the votes that came trickling in, it was declared passed after counting 86% of the votes, with 52% of the votes cast in favor of the question and 48% opposed. A deafening cheer went up through the crowd of hundreds of guests. Balloons dropped. Proposals of marriage abounded on the spot. Chants of O-Mall-EY resounded—Governor Martin O’Malley has been a champion of this cause—arguably the Civil Rights question of the 21st Century.
“We are one – our cause is one and we must help each other if we are to succeed.,” O’Malley said to the crowd in his comments to the crowd. “We are one – our cause is one and we must help each other if we are to succeed,“ he repeated.
Earlier this year, O’Malley was a guest speaker at Chefs for Equality, an event here in DC, which brought together local chefs together with the Human Rights Campaign to raise money for this cause. And succeed they did. The HRC raised $1.9 million with this and other fundraising efforts, for the ballot campaign.
“Fairness and equality under the law won tonight,” said Josh Levin, campaign manager for Marylanders for Marriage Equality. “We’re sure to feel the ripples of this monumental victory across the country for years to come.”
