Will Marriage Equality Affect 2016 Presidential Race?

Will President Obama’s outspoken support for same-sex marriage affect the 2016 presidential race? The Los Angeles Times thinks so. Paul West's new political column says the person for whom "risks and rewards of the issue have suddenly been raised is Martin O’Malley," the Maryland governor who is considered a likely White House aspirant.

While LGBT activists and Democrats across the U.S. applaud O'Malley's success in getting same-sex marriage legalized in Maryland, his opponents are now hoping to get a measure on the state's November ballot that would nix the law. West says O'Malley now must defend marriage equality at the polls to remain a Democratic hero — and to get those famed gay bundlers (the people who bring in big campaign money) on his side to help fund a 2016 race.

West says O’Malley’s role will receive scrutiny if the antigay measure passes and because "efforts to block same-sex marriage have rarely been defeated at the polls, but fairly or not, there could be questions about the effectiveness of his leadership."