Governor O'Malley is a Marylander for Marriage Equality

Marylanders for Marriage Equality, the coalition of groups working to pass same-sex marriage legislation in the state, launched a new video series on Monday. O’Malley, who has pledged to make the legislation a priority in 2012, appears in the first video.

In the 45-second spot, O’Malley talks about balancing religious freedom and the freedom to marry.

“As a free and diverse people of many different faiths, we choose to be governed under the law by certain fundamental principles, among them, equal protection of the law for every individual and the free exercise of religion without government intervention,” O’Malley says in the video. “The legislation we plan to introduce in the 2012 legislative session will protect religious freedom and equality of marital rights under the law.”

O’Malley, a former Baltimore mayor, announced in July that he would prioritize marriage equality legislation after receiving criticism for not being vocal enough in his support of the bill during the 2011 legislative session. Like Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who successfully pushed for such legislation in New York this year, O’Malley is mentioned as a potential Democratic presidential hopeful in 2016.