Sam Arora's public statement from the Washington Post:
I have heard from constituents, friends, and advocates from across the spectrum of views and have thought about the issue of same-sex marriage extensively. I understand their concern--this is a very serious issue, and one that many people feel passionately about. As the vote drew nearer, I wrestled with this issue in a way I never had before, which led me to realize that I had some concerns about the bill. While I personally believe that Maryland should extend civil rights to same-sex couples through civil unions, I have come to the conclusion that this issue has such impact on the people of Maryland that they should have a direct say. I will vote to send the bill to the floor because it deserves an up-or-down vote. On the floor, I will vote to send the bill to the governor so that Marylanders can ultimately decide this issue at the polls. I think that is appropriate.
3 comments:
Excellent news. Thanks for all your reporting on this issue.
It's nice that he's come arouond on this, but it really begs the question - how does a person who made support of Marriage Equality a cornerstone of his campaign, a lawyer who hopefully reviewed this position from all angles, have an 11th-hour case of the yips? Who got to him, and why?
Tom Steele
It is not at all clear to me that Sam has come around on this issue. He sponsored the bill, but now says he has concerns. (What are they?) According to David's earlier post Arora voted against the civil unions amendment, but in his own statement, Sam wrote that he believes in civil unions.
Sam seems to be saying that he opposes the bill, but will vote for it, only to allow the people of the state to decide the issue at the polls. I don't think this is what he was elected to do. Where does he stand, and why?
Stan Hertzbach
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