Maryland's newly signed same-sex marriage law will likely be facing a referendum in November, but Public Polling Policy has commissioned encouraging numbers for supporters, according to Marylanders for Marriage Equality's Facebook page.
* The poll shows a majority of Marylanders would definitely or probably vote in favor of the bill. Only 44 would definitely or probably vote for its repeal.
* Of those who support the bill, 41 percent will definitely vote in favor of HB438, SB241. Of those against, 39 percent were definitely against same-sex marriage.
* The poll of 600 voters was taken March 5-7 and had a plus-or-minus margin of error of 4 percent.
* Opponents need 56,000 signatures by June 30 to put the bill up for a vote on the November ballot.
* A counter-petition drive has begun by Marylanders for Marriage Equality. The pledge won't affect the possibility of the bill repeal meeting the June 30 goal, but it was developed with the hope of keeping the ballot initiative from succeeding.
* Equality Maryland is holding a "next steps community meeting" at Takoma Park Presbyterian Church on Sunday with the goal of making sure that the repeal doesn't succeed in November. The group was one of the leading advocates of same-sex marriage during the legislative process.
* Leading opponents -- the Maryland Catholic Conference, Maryland Family Alliance and Maryland Marriage Alliance -- are sponsoring the resolution to repeal the legislation, according to a news release from the Maryland Catholic Conference. Executive Director of the Maryland Marriage Alliance Derek McCoy suggested the response from opponents during the legislative debates indicated that it was "clear that the people of this state do not support same sex marriage."
Shawn Humphrey is a former contributor to The Flint Journal and lives near Washington in Gaithersburg, Md.
