This would have been breaking news, but DKos keeps going up and then crashing -- so I couldn't post the diary when I wrote it.
Our House of Delegates just passed the bill for marriage equality -- this is a major victory! Last year we lost at this point. Just yesterday we were a vote short of what we needed. But this evening we made it with one vote to spare. Now it goes on to the state Senate where it's expected to pass with no problem, then to our governor, who, unlike Chris Christie, is a big supporter of marriage equality.
And then, unfortunately, probably to referendum.
I spent yesterday and today checking the news and hounding the delegate from the district next door about how he was going to vote. Despite his promise, when he was running for delegate, that he would actually co-sponsor a marriage equality bill, last year he voted against it.
This year he was being cagey -- his embarrassed and apologetic staff must have gotten tired of saying that they had "no idea" how he would vote.
He voted against it. Sam Arora -- remember his name because we're going to replace him (if you go to his facebook page you will see a whole hell of a lot of angry constituents).
On Monday, another family and mine were at a marriage equality rally in Annapolis, our state capitol. (well 3/4 of my family, our older daughter, da gay one, copped out of coming). There were an estimated 700+ people at the rally -- which is damn good even if it isn't up to Wisconsin standards.
I have these photos -- poor quality because it was at night and we were taking them on my iphone.
The rally right outside the capitol took place under the auspices of the statue of Thurgood Marshall and, appropriately, the "Equal Justice Under Law" on the colonnade behind the statue
Governor O'Malley (photo credit: my 11 1/2 year old daughter):
Candace Gingrich-Jones (also taken by my daughter) who gave a rousing speech ending with something to the effect of "you can't choose your relatives but you can choose who to vote for"
And finally, we saw this as we were walking to the rally from where we parked -- it was so symbolic, I couldn't pass it up -- please note that not only is it an empty shell, but also it is literally behind the times -- the clock was slow by 2 hours!