Repeal Petitions Launch In Maryland

Hate groups yesterday began gathering the petition signatures to place a repeal of Maryland's same-sex marriage law on the November ballot.

Maryland Marriage Alliance officials announced Wednesday that they have launched the petition drive to collect the nearly 56,000 signatures needed to bring the law to referendum on the November ballot. The group, which is leading the referendum effort, is working with mdpetitions.com, an organization and website developed last year by a Maryland delegate, to collect signatures. Voters can visit the website and request a petition form be mailed to them. The website uses information from state voter rolls to ensure a signer’s printed name and address will match Maryland records, a standard used by the state Board of Elections to validate the signatures.

Maryland has one of the nation's strictest petition systems, but only 55,000 names will be required.