A Stitch in Haste

Another unfortunate case of confusing "Democratic" with "gay friendly" --

Phase 1:

Maryland's legislature is predominantly Democrat with a 33 to 14 advantage in the State Senate and 103 to 36 in the House. The leaders of both chambers are Democrats, as is the Governor.

Phase 2: ???

Phase 3:

In the end, Maryland legislators granted same-sex couples just a few new privileges, such as hospital visitation rights, before they adjourned last week.
...
Vic Basile, a former Human Rights Campaign executive director who lives in Baltimore, said that "it was pretty clear right from the beginning that marriage had zero chance of passing" the legislature this year.

Might I proffer, as I did in a comment left at the first link, a possible Phase 2:

Maryland is 23% Catholic, and also 18% Baptist.

Mystery solved.

Gay Democrats remain the political equivalent of styrofoam packing peanuts: you use them to get your merchandise to its destination -- then you throw them out.