In the News: After soul searching, swing votes make difference for same-sex marriage

from The Baltimore Sun.

A former math teacher. A firefighter. A lawyer. A small-business woman. A full-time doctoral student. A congressional aide.

When the legislative session started in January, the six delegates from different cliques in Maryland's clubby General Assembly had this in common: None would have called himself or herself a supporter of Gov. Martin O'Malley's bill to legalize same-sex marriage.

Yet all cast votes Friday in favor of the measure, providing the margin needed to pass the bill, 72-67, in the House of Delegates, which had rejected a similar measure 11 months ago.

Some never let on that they were wavering. Those who did faced the same formidable political and social forces that managed to scuttle the measure last year, including a strong and organized lobby from some of the state's most influential church leaders. One lawmaker, a Catholic, received a phone call from Rome from Cardinal-designate Edwin F. O'Brien, who was elevated to that rank Saturday. All confronted the threat of being unseated by opponents of gay marriage when the delegates face re-election campaigns in 2014.

But this time the faith-driven opposition didn't carry the day. Instead, lawmakers say, they were swayed by the emotional stories of gay couples. Some delegates wanted to be assured that churches would never be forced by the state to preform same-sex marriages. Several were convinced that voters would get the final say. Their decisions pushed the vote count past the 71 needed to pass the measure.

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