Same-Sex marriage opponents turn in signatures for referendum

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (WMAR) - The same-sex marriage law has been one of the most controversial topics in Maryland this year.

Opponents of the law delivered 113,000 petition signatures on Tuesday, more than twice the amount needed to put a referendum on November's ballot.

The Maryland Marriage Alliance, the group that opposes same-sex marriage in Maryland, only needed around 56,000 signatures by June 30. ^thThe group spent almost $100,000 collecting signatures.

"Every poll is nothing but propaganda, ”said Derek McCoy, Executive Director of the Maryland Marriage Alliance.  “What we are seeing is countless Marylanders around the state want to see marriage go on the ballot but they also want to see it upheld and defined as between one man and one woman,” he said.

MacArthur Flournoy with Marylanders for Marriage Equality thought differently.

"The collection of those signatures does not reflect the growing momentum among Maryland voters”, he said.  “The truth of the matter is that our opponents have lost ground.  We've seen substantial growth.  We now know that 57-percent of Maryland voters now support marriage equality. ”

Marylanders for Marriage Equality said they always expected the law to end up in referendum.