By Danielle Ryan

Tribune Washington Bureau (MCT)

CAPITOL HEIGHTS, Md.

--Maryland, which just a month ago appeared poised to become the first state in the country to back gay marriage by popular vote, is now reported to be deadlocked on the issue, in part because of a drop in support from religious blacks.

Only a few weeks ago, polls were suggesting that Marylanders were leaning toward supporting gay marriage, but as November approached, the numbers tightened.

The change appears to be partly driven by black pastors in Maryland urging their congregations to vote against the measure.

During a sermon in October, pastor Harold L. Dugger of First Baptist Church in Prince George's County, Md., asked his congregation to go to the polls to cast their votes against same-sex marriage.

"No vote means you've already voted," Dugger told church members. "We stand firmly on the word of God--your faith has to do a lot with what you do at the polls."

A poll conducted in late September for the Baltimore Sun showed the measure to legalize same-sex marriage ahead by 10 percentage points, with more than 50 percent of African-Americans supporting the idea despite a history of opposition from black churches. A quarter of black respondents were opposed.

Since then, voters in Maryland have been exposed to a media blitz, with both sides airing TV ads in an effort to swing undecided voters their way. The latest polling for the Sun, conducted Oct. 20-23 by the Annapolis, Md., firm OpinionWorks, now shows 50 percent of black voters against same-sex marriage, with 42 percent supporting the idea. (The survey questioned 801 likely voters and had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.)

After his recent Sunday service, Dugger said his opposition to the measure does not lessen his support for President Barack Obama, who has endorsed the legalization of gay marriage. "But for me as a biblicist, I will always take the position that same-sex marriage is wrong."

Backers of the Maryland measure wonder how clear it will be to voters that while approval would give same-sex couples the right to marry, no religious organizations would be forced to perform such ceremonies. Supporters believe that if undecided voters understand that, the measure is more likely to pass.