Gay marriage laws in Maryland, New Jersey face hurdles

By Alice Popovici

(Reuters) - Bills to legalise same sex marriage in Maryland and New Jersey face key legislative debates and votes on Thursday, highlighting a hot-button social issue that is gaining prominence in the 2012 U.S. presidential election campaign.

In Maryland, the House of Delegates delayed until Thursday evening its debate on the contentious "Civil Marriage Protection Act" sponsored by Governor Martin O'Malley, who is seen as a rising star in the Democratic Party.

The bill was passed by two House committees on Tuesday, but it remains unclear if O'Malley and his allies have pulled together the 71 votes needed to clear the full House. Comparable legislation failed to pass a year ago when a number of African-American Democrats joined Republicans in opposing the bill.

O'Malley, a gay marriage supporter, has attempted to sway the black lawmakers, many of whom are hesitant to back an issue opposed by much of Maryland's black clergy.

In New Jersey, the Assembly takes up the "Marriage Equality and Religious Exemption Act," which passed the Senate on Monday.

The bill is expected to pass the Democratic-led lower house but faces a promised veto by Governor Chris Christie, who has emerged as a possible Republican vice presidential candidate.

The action in the Maryland and New Jersey statehouses follows passage of a same-sex marriage bill in Washington state, where Governor Christine Gregoire signed it into law on Monday, but it will not take effect until at least June.

Opponents are working to gather signatures for a ballot initiative in November that would block the law. One group of repeal advocates, the Preserve Marriage Washington coalition, is also seeking a referendum in early March to put the issue directly to the state's voters.

A federal appeals court in California earlier this month overturned that state's gay marriage ban, enacted through a 2008 ballot initiative. That sets up a possible showdown in the U.S. Supreme Court over the matter.

Seven states and the District of Columbia allow same-sex marriages. In addition to Washington state, they are New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Vermont and Iowa.

(Writing by Dan Burns; Editing by Greg McCune and Anthony Boadle)