Don’t Believe Everything You Read
Sam Arora, the Maryland freshman State Delegate who has made national headlines this week after running on a platform including full support for same-sex marriage, then coming out against Maryland’s marriage equality bill that he co-sponsored, has now announced he will vote for the bill both in committee and on the House floor.
Arora, whose Facebook page is filled with messages ranging from disappointment to utter rage and hate, claimed this morning, “As the vote drew nearer, I wrestled with this issue in a way I never had before,” adding his pondering, “led me to realize that I had some concerns about the bill.”
Read: “Maggie Gallagher Accuses Maryland Gays Of Racism Against Arora“
Here are his comments in full:
“I have heard from constituents, friends, and advocates from across the spectrum of views and have thought about the issue of same-sex marriage extensively. I understand their concern–this is a very serious issue, and one that many people feel passionately about. As the vote drew nearer, I wrestled with this issue in a way I never had before, which led me to realize that I had some concerns about the bill. While I personally believe that Maryland should extend civil rights to same-sex couples through civil unions, I have come to the conclusion that this issue has such impact on the people of Maryland that they should have a direct say. I will vote to send the bill to the floor because it deserves an up-or-down vote. On the floor, I will vote to send the bill to the governor so that Marylanders can ultimately decide this issue at the polls. I think that is appropriate.”
It’s important to remember that Arora promised to vote for marriage equality in his campaign, raised a good deal of funds from the LGBT community based upon that promise, and scrubbed his Twitter feed to remove the post that read, “I co-spons’d the Relig. Freedom & Civil marriage Prot. Act. It will couple civil marriage equality & relig. free exercise protections in Md.”
But now, The Washington Post reports, “Arora said that he personally prefers civil unions as an alternative to allowing gay couples to marry but decided voters should have “a direct say.”
“On the floor, I will vote to send the bill to the governor so that Marylanders can ultimately decide this issue at the polls,” he said. “I think that is appropriate.”
Keep in mind, this is another flip-flop, as Arora supported full marriage equality, with no voter referendum on it.
Dan Savage, never one to hold back, yesterday wrote, “a message has to be sent to our “friends,” to Dems who are pro-gay when it’s check-cashing and vote-begging time and anti-gay once they get into office (with our help) and it’s promise-keeping time. This particular cowardly liar is deleting his month-old, pro-marraige-equality [sic]Â Tweets in a desperate attempt to cover his tracks/ass. That stunningly pathetic.”