Former Maryland lieutenant governor Kathleen Kennedy Townsend has joined backers of the same-sex marriage law that residents will be voting on this November.
Townsend is also the eldest child of Robert F. Kennedy.
She told a news conference in Baltimore yesterday that her uncle President John F. Kennedy emphasized the separation of church and state.
Townsend, who comes from one of the most famous Catholic families in the nation, has joined fellow Catholic Governor Martin O’Malley who pushed for the same-sex marriage law this year.
Townsend appeared along with three Catholic parents of gay children… who also support the law.
However, the Maryland Catholic Conference which advocates church policy in Annapolis opposes the law.
Opponents collected more than the 55,736 signatures needed to put the measure on the ballot.
Meanwhile the Washington-based Human Rights Campaign this week pledged to contribute $1 million to campaign in four states to support gay marriage laws on the ballot.
Maryland will get $250-thousand.
