Here Come the Marriage Campaigns

In about a month Maryland is going to vote for or against a bill that allows same-sex couples to marry. The legislature and governor already passed a bill into law, but certain cultural forces have organized to put it on the ballot in November.

You'd think there would be a lot of furor and argument, but so far I don't think I have seen a single bumper sticker or billboard, have not received a robocall on the subject, I haven't heard anybody talking about it on the Metro or anywhere else. Even on Facebook and Twitter, the activists I follow have been mostly concerned with other things.

I'd be pretty sure most people know where they stand on the issue of marriage equality, and doubt that there will be much in the way of people changing their minds at this point. Still, The Post is warning us that the debate is about to move to center stage.

Marylanders, who have been inundated by casino ads for the past month, are about to see a campaign blossom into full view over another high-profile ballot measure: same-sex marriage.

With barely five weeks until Election Day, groups on both sides of the debate are poised to make their cases in a blitz of television ads, mailers and other appeals that will alternately try to put a human face on the relationships of gay couples and warn of the consequences of allowing them to wed.

Until now, opponents have mounted a relatively quiet campaign, mobilizing through the state’s churches and civic organizations. That included an event last week featuring the archbishop of Baltimore and plans this Sunday for clergy in churches across the state to preach against changing the definition of marriage.

Proponents of Question 6 have been most visible raising money for the fight, gathering everywhere from the homes of local supporters to a New York rooftop bar where guests mingled with an array of celebrities, including Susan Sarandon. Last week, “American Idol” runner-up Adam Lambert spoke out for equal rights between songs at a benefit concert in the District. Maryland ad war coming over same-sex marriage vote

Question 6, the “Civil Marriage Protection Act,” will appear on the ballot in this form:

Establishes that Maryland’s civil marriage laws allow gay and lesbian couples to obtain a civil marriage license, provided they are not otherwise prohibited from marrying; protects clergy from having to perform any particular marriage ceremony in violation of their religious beliefs; affirms that each religious faith has exclusive control over its own theological doctrine regarding who may marry within that faith; and provides that religious organizations and certain related entities are not required to provide goods, services, or benefits to an individual related to the celebration or promotion of marriage in violation of their religious beliefs.

Voting Yes on Question 6 supports equal marriage rights for gay and lesbian couples.

Skipping down in the Washington Post article...

Josh Levin, campaign manager for Marylanders for Marriage Equality, said his group is certainly aware of the historical significance of this year’s battle.

“Just about everybody in Maryland knows somebody who’s gay or lesbian,” Levin said. “They’re our neighbors, our family, our friends and our co-workers, and Question 6 is about treating them fairly and protecting religious freedom at the same time.”

Under the pending law, which would take effect Jan. 1 if voters approve, no religious group would be forced to perform same-sex weddings.

Recent public polling has shown proponents with an advantage of 10 or fewer percentage points. [Marriage opponent Derek] McCoy said he remains undaunted, given that in other states his side has generally performed better at the ballot box than in polling on same-sex marriage measures.

The Post's article outlines the gigantic organizing effort that has gone into opposing marriage equality in our state, led by "... Frank Schubert, a consultant who worked on the successful effort in California to pass Proposition 8, the ballot measure that banned same-sex marriages, and who has been on the winning side of a string of similar contests since then in other states." An anti-gay spokesman said that 1,000 churches were being organized to give sermons against same-sex marriage.

Proponents of same-sex marriage have also produced several dozen clergy members in recent weeks to counter the notion that all religious leaders oppose the right of gay couples to get married.

This month, the Rev. Al Sharpton and about a dozen black pastors from Maryland and well beyond held a news conference at the National Press Club to make known their support for Maryland’s same-sex marriage law.

You may belong to a religion that considers homosexuality a sin and does not recognize marriages between same-sex couples. Fine. If you subscribe to a religious faith you really should try to live within its code, if they don't allow something you should not do it. But please remember that there are other faiths, other belief systems, and in America we are promised certain kinds of freedoms, including the freedom to practice our religion and freedom not to be forced by government to follow the beliefs and practices of one religion or another.

It is hard sometimes to understand the other person's point of view, but our democracy depends on us realizing that even when we do not understand someone's thoughts or feelings we can respect them enough to give them the room to live as they believe they should. In return, they will grant us the same respect. That's how America works.