MARYLAND: Guilty Plea In McDonald's Attack On Transwoman

One of the teenagers caught on video in a brutal attack on a transwoman at a Baltimore McDonald's has pleaded guilty.

Teonna Monae Brown, 19, pleaded guilty in a Baltimore County court to one court of first-degree assault and one count of a hate crime in the attack on Chrissy Polis, 22, said Baltimore County State's Attorney Scott Shellenberger. The April attack brought attention nationwide to the plight of transgender people, with thousands signing online petitions and holding rallies. Prosecutors expect to seek a prison term of five years when Brown is sentenced next month.

The second attacker pleaded guilty last month and was sentenced to a juvenile facility.

Archbishop: Maryland Isn't New York

The Archbishop of Baltimore, Edwin O'Brien, has a message for Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley, who earlier this week vowed to support the renewed push for marriage equality.

“Maryland is not New York,” wrote Archbishop Edwin O’Brien of Baltimore in a statement to LifeSiteNews Tuesday. “During the 2011 session, Maryland lawmakers chose not to redefine marriage because they listened to their Maryland constituents and stood by their deeply-held moral convictions.” “Government’s interest in marriage has been to promote the procreation of children, protect the best method of raising children and therefore protect society for future generations,” he said. “There are many ways to protect basic human rights; sacrificing marriage is not one of them. The successful coalition that upheld the time-honored definition of marriage in Maryland, which includes many leaders of African-American churches throughout the state, remains intact and will continue to be vigorously involved in upholding marriage in Maryland,” said the archbishop.

MD Gov Vows Marriage Support

As Maryland's activists gear up to take another run at marriage equality, Gov. Martin O'Malley has pledged his full support.

"I certainly plan to be very active in support of it, and we'll have other announcements in upcoming months," O'Malley said at the National Governors Association meeting in Salt Lake City. O'Malley has long supported civil unions and has said that if lawmakers passed a bill legalizing same-sex marriage, he would sign it. But Friday marks the first time O'Malley has made same-sex unions a legislative priority. The Democratic governor said he would favor a measure in Maryland that mirrors the same-sex marriage law recently enacted in New York, which protects religious organizations from being required to ordain same-sex marriages.