Current state of Maryland's passed-but-not-yet-in-effect Marriage Equality law.
The law was passed by the state legislature. The governor was part of the team shepherding it through the statehouse. If there were no opposition, it would go into effect next year.
Opposition was initially strong, with a coalition of conservative groups and some of the black churches. The short term push was to get a sufficient number of signatures to put the measure on the November ballot. It is still likely that will happen, but recent polling is showing noticeable opposition erosion. Principally, that erosion has been in the black religious community as the NAACP and Obama's support have begun to have influence.
The measure is still not certain to become law, but it is looking more promising each day.
As a Maryland resident, I can say for certain that the state is not as blue as many think. There are some deep red areas and much of the state, outside of the urban population centers, is light purple. Cracking into one of those two areas can sway state politics. That is why similar measures have failed in the past - the urban religious community erodes enough otherwise liberal voter support.
The news reports I heard on tonight's news is, indeed, good news.
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