Maryland First Lady Katie O’Malley lashed out against opponents of same-sex marriage while speaking on Thursday at the 24th annual Conference on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Equality. “[T]here were some cowards that prevented it from passing,” O’Malley said, referring to last year’s unsuccessful effort to pass a bill allowing gays and lesbians to marry.
Katie’s husband Martin has taken a much more active role in pushing a marriage bill through the legislature this session, after being criticized by LGBT equality groups for not personally investing in the measure last year. O’Malley’s support for same-sex marriage was largely contained “to private conversations with lawmakers. He made no mention of the legislation in his agenda-setting State of the State speech.”
This year, O’Malley is pushing full-steam ahead and has introduce a bill that includes additional conscience protections for religious organizations to attract more moderate lawmakers. O’Malley also met with New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg yesterday to discuss that state’s successful effort in enacting a same-sex marriage bill.
Update
O’Malley has apologized for her remarks: “I deeply respect that there are strongly held and differing views on marriage equality in Maryland but hope that our state’s elected officials will come together to fairly address this important issue for our families and children.”
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