In February 2012, the Maryland legislature returned to the question of same-sex marriage. After the disappointment in 2011, Governor Martin O'Malley agreed to sponsor the marriage equality bill and to make it a top priority of his legislative agenda.

On February 17, 2012, after hours of tense and emotional debate, Maryland's Assembly reversed the action taken the previous year and passed the bill on a 72 to 67 vote. During the debate, Maryland's seven openly gay delegates urged their fellow legislators to pass the bill. "We should extend to families, same-sex loving couples, the right to marry in a civil ceremony," Del. Maggie McIntosh said in a hushed chamber after relaying her experience coming out as a lesbian. "I'm going to ask you today, my colleagues, to make history."

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Two Republicans joined 70 Democrats in voting for the bill. One of them, Del. Wade Kach, said that his views on the issue changed after a hearing last week when he heard testimony from loving same-sex couples, including some with children. "My constituents did not send me here to judge people," Kach said.

Kach, who voted against the bill last year, was allegedly lobbied by high-profile Republicans, including former Republican National Committee chair Ken Mehlman, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and former Vice President Dick Cheney.

On February 23, 2012, the Maryland Senate, as expected, passed the marriage equality bill. The vote was 25-22. Governor O'Malley announced that he would sign the legislation within a week.

Passage of the bill was regarded as a signal victory for Governor Martin O'Malley. In an interview before the Senate vote, Governor O'Malley explained to Michelangelo Signorile that after the failure of the bill last year he attempted to create a consensus in the state.

"I encouraged people to look at it through the eyes of children of gay and lesbian couples," he explained. "And it is not right, and it is not just, that children of gay and lesbian parents should have lesser protections. It was about equal rights for all."

Opponents soon gathered sufficient signatures to force a referendum on the bill in November 2012.

Veto in New Jersey

In response to the mandate of the 2006 New Jersey Supreme Court, the New Jersey legislature adopted civil unions that purported to offer all the benefits and responsibilities of marriage to same-sex couples. In 2010, however, a state commission concluded that the civil unions law had been a failure, primarily because many people did not understand what they were.

To remedy the failure, some couples filed suit, asking the courts to redress the injustice. In addition, the state legislature revisited the question of same-sex marriage.

On February 13, 2012, the New Jersey Senate passed, on a vote of 28-16, legislation authorizing same-sex marriage. On February 16, the Assembly, on a vote of 42 to 33, followed suit. The legislation proceeded to the desk of Republican Governor Chris Christie, who promptly vetoed the bill.

In his veto message, Christie called for a referendum on whether to change the definition of marriage in New Jersey and proposed creating an ombudsman to oversee compliance with the state's civil union law.

Christie said, "I am adhering to what I've said since this bill was first introduced--an issue of this magnitude and importance, which requires a constitutional amendment, should be left to the people of New Jersey to decide."

"I have been just as adamant that same-sex couples in a civil union deserve the very same rights and benefits enjoyed by married couples--as well as the strict enforcement of those rights and benefits," the statement continued.

"Discrimination should not be tolerated and any complaint alleging a violation of a citizen's right should be investigated and, if appropriate, remedied. To that end, I include in my conditional veto the creation of a strong Ombudsman for Civil Unions to carry on New Jersey's strong tradition of tolerance and fairness."

The legislature has until the end of the legislative session in January 2014 to override Christie's veto. Meanwhile, the lawsuit seeking a mandate for marriage continues to make its way through the state court system.

Historic Election, November 6, 2012: Victories in Maine, Maryland, Washington, Minnesota, and Iowa

The general election of November 2012 was historic for a number of reasons, including the fact that it may mark a turning point for marriage equality.

Days after the voters of North Carolina overwhelmingly approved a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage and civil unions in May 2012, President Obama endorsed marriage equality, effectively placing the issue front and center in the 2012 presidential campaign. The Democratic and Republican parties took polar opposite positions on marriage equality in their platforms and conventions. Hence, in a real sense the 2012 campaign itself was a referendum on marriage equality.

Not only was the first sitting President of the United States who endorsed the right of gay and lesbian couples to marry handily re-elected, but his success was almost certainly helped rather than hindered by his endorsement of marriage equality. Indeed, the President's support for equal rights energized his base and served as a stark contrast to the position of his opponent, Mitt Romney, who had signed a pledge to support a federal constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage.

In addition, voters in Maine, Maryland, and Washington state voted in favor of marriage equality, while voters in Minnesota rejected a ban on same-sex marriage and voters in Iowa refused to recall a member of the state's supreme court because he joined the opinion that established marriage equality in the state.

Despite their disappointment in the outcome of the 2009 "people's veto" of the marriage equality bill that had been passed by the Maine legislature, the state's marriage equality proponents did not give up in their quest for equal rights. They decided to attempt to persuade Maine voters to change their minds. In 2011, they announced plans to return to the ballot, this time with a proactive proposition to authorize same-sex marriage.

Supporters delivered more than 105,000 petition signatures for the initiative to the Secretary of State's office on January 26, 2012, exceeding the minimum of 57,277 signatures requirement.

On November 6, 2012, Maine voters made history by being the first in the nation to approve same-sex marriage by popular vote. Question 1, a voter referendum on a citizen-initiated state statute, asked: "Do you want to allow the State of Maine to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples?" By a 54-46 margin, voters said yes.