VIDEO: Heartfelt Testimony in Maryland House on Marriage Bill

This could be the week that Maryland finally passes marriage – but it's by no means a sure thing, and we need supporters to keep the pressure up to make it happen. Last Friday, a day after the Senate passed the state's marriage bill, the House Judiciary Committee held a hearing on the measure, HB 175. A debate and vote in committee are set for tomorrow, and if passed then the bill will be debated and voted on by the full House – probably later this week.

So far, fewer than the 71 Delegates needed for passage have declared their support. If you're a Marylander, you can easily send an email to your representative letting them know that the freedom to marry is important to you by clicking here:

http://www.freedomtomarry.org/page/speakout/MD_Delegates

Whether you live in Maryland or not, please share this link with people who live in the state so that lawmakers can hear the message that they should do the right thing on the marriage bill.

Supporters who testified in favor of the bill at Friday's hearing included half a dozen gay House members. They know firsthand what it means to not be able to marry the person they love in their home state just because they're gay. Del. Heather Mizeur (D) spoke with her wife sitting right behind her (the couple got married in California).

"This debate is not about abstractions, it's not about definitions – it's about thousands of families who will be protected by this law," said Del. Mizeur. "Our relationship is built on love, mutual respect, and admiration… While it's love that makes a family, it's marriage that protects it."

You can watch the testimony by House members here