Gay Marriage In Maryland: Catholic Governors In Five States Sign Legislation

The Governor of Maryland will sign gay marriage equality legislation today. While the 2012 presidential race rekindles the embers of culture war, the rift between Catholic clergy and laypeople seems only to grow. In the recent contraception controversy it was revealed that 98% of Catholic women have used contraception at sometime in their lives, even as the Catholic Bishops maintain the position that contraception goes against Catholic teaching.

But contraception isn't the only place where the Catholic laity is at odds with the hierarchy. As Michael O'Loughlin pointed out in America Magazine, four Catholic governors have given marriage rights to gay citizens and Gov. Martin O'Malley makes five. As the political climate heats up, and with memories of the Bishop of Scranton threatening to refuse communion to the Catholic and, then Vice Presidential candidate, Joseph Biden, it will be interesting to see how, or if, these Catholic Governors remain in good standing within the Catholic Church.

See The Catholic Governors Who Have Signed Gay Marriage Bills: