The Pride Alliance president, who also has a black belt in kung fu, said he thought it would be best if he steered away from the public just in case it wasn’t good news.

And at about mid-afternoon, when reports rolled in that the state House of Delegates had effectively killed the same-sex marriage bill Brennen had fervently fought for, his decision to stay home proved to be a smart one.

“If I’m in Annapolis, I’ll end up in jail because I’ll probably assault people. Best for me to be locked away,” Brennen said. “I stayed in my apartment all day Friday because I had a really foreboding feeling about it. When the votes came in — oh my God, I was so devastated. We’ve been fighting and fighting and fighting.”

After weeks of lobbying, the Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Protection Act, which would extend marriage benefits to same-sex couples in the state, didn’t see nearly the same success in the chamber that it did in the state Senate, where it passed last month. The bill did not even garner enough support to hold a final floor vote and was sent back to committee. Many blamed Democrats who were torn between the viewpoints of their many constituents.

Some students at this university who made their constituent demands crystal clear said the results were disappointing.

“I think everybody at the beginning thought the Senate was going to be the harder chamber of the two,” said College Democrats President Daniel Borman, who organized a letter-writing campaign aimed at convincing state Sen. Jim Rosapepe (D-Prince George’s) to support the measure. “I guess we’ll just have to try again next year.”

Brennen agreed, explaining that although the fight is tiresome, the nature of the issue ensures it will continue.

“It’s exhausting at this point. I was never asked to vote on anybody else’s rights, so please extend the same courtesy to me,” he said. “You have to keep going. A lot of people feel disheartened, but it’s really important to let our representatives know that this is unacceptable and encourage people who gave their support to continue to do so. This is not something that’s going to be won overnight.”

Despite the heavy anticipation surrounding Friday’s vote, it wasn’t on all students’ radars. Sophomore economics and history major Neal Freyman said he supports same-sex marriage but wasn’t closely following the happenings in Annapolis — perhaps an indication that pro-gay rights sentiments are spreading, even if political awareness is not.

“I support same-sex marriage, but I haven’t been compelled to do anything about it,” he said. “I think it’s a shame it didn’t get through. I come from Massachusetts, where it’s legal, and I’d like to see it spread.”

— Rachel Roubein

Gov. Martin O'Malley speaks at a press conference. — The Baltimore Sun

In today’s morning roundup, we mentioned a new poll showing Gov. Martin O’Malley’s approval rating at 48 percent. A casual observer might see this and assume O’Malley is vulnerable in 2010 gubernatorial race. But yet, even against two of his strongest potential challengers — former Gov. Robert Ehrlich and former Lt. Gov. (and current Republican National Committee Chairman) Michael Steele — O’Malley leads by more than 10 percentage points.

So what gives? A minority approves of O’Malley’s importance, but a plurality still thinks he should be re-elected. This looks good for O’Malley. There are a few reasons for this:

1. Being a governor in a recession is tough, and 48 percent is a pretty good approval rating. Just ask Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, who only gets a positive job rating from 19 percent of voters. Or the Governator, who only manages to impress 19 percent of California voters. O’Malley is even doing better than Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine, who was considered Vice Presidential material.
2. People’s troubles with O’Malley seem to be rooted in the economy, not in him personally. As Aaron C. Davis pointed out on the Washington Post’s politics blog this morning:

A large majority of Maryland voters — 75 percent — say that the state budget is a “very big problem,” according to the poll. But a simple majority can’t agree on a single thing to do about it:
80 percent oppose reducing state aid for public education.
70 percent oppose reducing services for the poor.
67 percent oppose reducing state aid for higher education.
67 percent oppose increasing the state income tax.
64 percent oppose increasing the state sales tax.
56 percent oppose reducing state funding for environmental programs.
51 percent oppose reducing state funding for transportation projects.

Unlike the federal government, states can’t run deficits, so when the economy sours, tax revenues drop and governors and legislatures are left with two choices: raise taxes or cut services. Voters hate both of those things, so O’Malley’s approval rating is going to take a hit.

3. Even if people don’t like O’Malley, they might not like the alternatives any better. Some liberals may be disappointed in the governor’s support for slot machines, for example, but they are highly unlikely to throw their support to conservatives like Ehrlich or Steele. These people could be wooed by someone like former university administrator Doug Duncan running to the left of O’Malley in the Democratic primary or as an independent in the general election.