Maryland LG for Marriage Equality

Maryland lieutenant governor Anthony Brown said Wednesday that he supports the marriage equality bill pending in the state legislature.

Brown announced his position in an interview with the Washington Blade.

"LGBT activists believe Brown, a Prince George's County Democrat who is considered a potential candidate for governor in 2014, could play a key role in defending the marriage bill against a voter referendum in 2012 if the legislature passes it this year, as most political observers expect," the Blade reported.

Governor Martin O'Mally has promised to sign the marriage equality bill into law. Brown said that he believes a referendum would make it to the ballot, but he predicted that voters would uphold the law and not repeal it.

The Brown announcement arrived on the same day that state senator Allan Kittleman became the first Republican in his chamber to support the bill. He dropped his proposal for a civil unions bill, an unpopular option among his colleagues that last month prompted his resignation as minority leader.

The senate judicial proceedings committee will hold a hearing on the marriage equality bill this Tuesday.