In the inaugural video, Gov. O’Malley says, “As a free and diverse people of many different faiths, we choose to be governed under the law by certain fundamental principles. The legislation we plan to introduce in the 2012 legislative session will protect religious freedom and equality of marital rights under the law."

The video can be viewed on the coalition’s new web site www.MarylandersForMarriageEquality.org. Hop on board with the campaign at Facebook or Twitter.

“We are certainly grateful the Governor is kicking off our video campaign, which will give state lawmakers the opportunity to see the depth and diversity of support for civil marriage equality,” said Tessa Hill-Alston, president of the Baltimore Chapter of the NAACP. “The momentum is on our side, including significant gains in the African-American community.”

A Gonzales Research poll showed a majority of Marylanders (51%) support same-sex marriage. Forty-eight percent of African Americans support the issue while 41% oppose it – a significant increase from 2009.

Earlier this month, the NAACP Baltimore Branch joined 1199 SEIU, Progressive Maryland, ACLU-Maryland, Equality Maryland, Human Rights Campaign, National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, Senator Rich Madaleno and Delegate Luke Clippinger as members of the Marylanders for Marriage Equality coalition.

The coalition is building a statewide grassroots organization -- which includes weekly phone banks, post card drops, and letter-writing campaigns -- to ensure state legislators hear from their constituents.

Marylanders for Marriage Equality is the coalition working to bring civil marriage equality to Maryland.