First Openly Gay Candidate to Seek Office in Howard
by Steve Charing
You might recognize or know Byron Macfarlane as one of the co-founders and leaders, along with Mark Yost, Jr., of the wildly successful and well-organized Guerilla Gay Bar Baltimore movement. However, if things go according to plan, Macfarlane may be soon known to a broader segment of the population and for different reasons.
Attorney Byron Macfarlane, 27, threw his hat into the ring and became the first ever openly gay candidate to run for office in a partisan election in Howard County, Maryland. He already has a political victory under his belt as he had been elected in 2006 to the Howard County Democratic Central Committee. But this year Macfarlane, a resident of Woodstock, is expected to run against a 6-term incumbent Republican, Kay Hartleb, for the Register of Wills.
Washington, D.C., became the nation’s sixth jurisdiction to allow same-sex marriage on March 3 when it opened its marriage license application process to gay and lesbian couples.
After 9 months of anticipation, Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler issued an opinion on February 24 that says that Maryland may recognize the valid marriages of same-sex couples performed in other states or foreign countries. Senator Richard Madaleno (D-Montgmery) had requested the opinion last May.
