ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Over the course of four hours on Tuesday, opponents and supporters of same-sex marriage delivered compelling testimony before a Maryland Senate committee in hopes of swaying lawmakers on a landmark bill.

The Maryland Senate Judiciary Committee heard testimony on Tuesday from advocates and opponents of the marriage equality bill currently pending in the state legislature, including 14-year-old Sarah Crank, who told legislators that it “would be the best birthday present ever if you would vote no on gay marriage.”

ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- More than 300 protesters rallied outside the Maryland State House in Annapolis on Monday evening, listening to ministers and chanting slogans in opposition to a same-sex marriage bill introduced by Gov. Martin O'Malley.

BALTIMORE -- Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley -- who has said legalizing marriage equality is a high priority for his administration -- underscored a need for rational thinking and polite public discourse over the issue in a speech Sunday at the 24th National Conference on LGBT Equality.

ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- At a gathering on the steps of the governor’s residence in Annapolis, Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley on Tuesday called on the state’s residents and lawmakers to join him in supporting his newly drafted same-sex marriage bill.

ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- Maryland's Democratic Governor Martin O'Malley introduced legislation Monday evening aimed at legalizing same-sex marriage in Maryland, making good on his 2010 re-election campaign promise to work toward enacting marriage equality while in office.

TOWSON, Md. -- Montgomery County police chief Thomas Manger says that allegations that rapes and sexual assaults occurred in public restrooms following passage of a transgender accommodation law are "untrue." The assertion comes in response to opposition to a transgender rights bill introduced Tuesday in Baltimore County, Md. -- the bill would protect transgender people and allow use of restrooms according to their gender identity.

Bills calling for legalizing same-sex marriage and banning discrimination against transgender persons are among the hot-button issues set to emerge next week when the Maryland State Legislature begins its 2012 session.

Two Baltimore County police officers who were denied health benefits for their same-sex spouses, were notified Tuesday that an independent arbitrator had ruled that the county had violated the terms of their police union contract by denying their benefits more than one year ago.

BEL AIR, Md. -- Students in a suburban Baltimore high school's drama club are rejoicing after school administrators reversed a decision that would have prevented them from staging a play that included a scene in which two young men come to realize they are attracted to each other.

Governor Martin O'Malley is a Marylander for marriage equality. The Democratic Governor on Monday released a video in which he called for balancing religious freedom with the freedom to marry.

A Baltimore woman accused of beating a transgender woman at an area McDonald's on April 18 has been sentenced to five years in prison after pleading guilty to the attack.

Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley (D) wants marriage equality legislation approved in the Maryland legislature's 2012 session, and is making it a priority of his administration. And in a display of unity with LGBTQ Marylanders, O'Malley co-hosted a fundraiser in suburban Washington on Wednesday evening, benefiting Equality Maryland.

A 19-year-old woman whose beating of a transgender woman at a Baltimore-area McDonald's earlier this year, has pleaded to the attack.

Maryland's Governor Martin O'Malley (D) on Friday said that he was prepared to lead a more aggressive campaign to pass a measure legalizing same-sex marriage.