Washington - The Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) civil rights group, and Freedom to Marry, the campaign to win marriage nationwide, today praised the Maryland House of Delegates Judiciary Committee for passing the Civil Marriage Protection Act by a 12-10 vote. The bill now heads to the full House where it needs 71 votes to pass into law.

"We applaud the Maryland House of Delegates Judiciary Committee for ending attempts to hold our families hostage to political maneuvering," said HRC President Joe Solmonese. "Maryland is at the forefront in the fight for equality and will go down on the right side of history. We ask the full House to swiftly move forward to bring full equality to Maryland Families"

"Today's vote was an important step toward ensuring that the thousands of loving and committed same-sex couples in Maryland have the full array of protections that only come with marriage," said Marc Solomon, National Campaign Director for Freedom to Marry. "But this victory is not yet a lock - everyone must play their part. We call on constituents to contact their legislators and on legislators to listen and do what is right to secure this victory for Maryland families."

The Human Rights Campaign is America's largest civil rights organization working to achieve lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender equality. By inspiring and engaging all Americans, HRC strives to end discrimination against LGBT citizens and realize a nation that achieves fundamental fairness and equality for all.

Freedom to Marry is the campaign to win marriage nationwide. We are pursuing our Roadmap to Victory by working to win the freedom to marry in more states, grow the national majority for marriage, and end federal marriage discrimination. We partner with individuals and organizations across the country to end the exclusion of same-sex couples from marriage and the protections, responsibilities, and commitment that marriage brings.