Elementor Support 
FFRF Action Fund is pleased to endorse Byron Macfarlane in his reelection bid for Register of Wills, Howard County, Md. Macfarlane will appear on the ballot in the nonpartisan primary on June 23.
Macfarlane was first elected register of wills in 2010 after defeating a long-term incumbent. A register of wills manages legal documents and public records related to wills and estates, including validating wills and administering estates after a person’s death. Macfarlane became the youngest register of wills in Maryland history and the first openly LGBTQ+ elected official in Howard County.
Macfarlane firmly believes in the separation of state and church and asserts that religion should not serve as the basis for any governmental action. He has never referenced or used religion while advocating for any policy as a register of wills. He has also never sworn an oath to God or any other deity during his terms in public office and does not require his employees to do so. In his last two terms, Macfarlane has admirably used a copy of the U.S. Constitution and the U.N. Universal Declaration of Human Rights while taking his oath of office.
Macfarlane’s state-church advocacy while in office has gone well beyond the statutory duties of a register of wills. Macfarlane notably removed prayer from the agenda of city meetings. He also initiated the creation of a domestic partnership registry, which allows unmarried couples to receive applicable tax credits and streamlines probate proceedings. The registry faced backlash due to its inclusion of same-sex partnerships, despite both heterosexual and homosexual couples partaking in the registry.
Additionally, after the establishment of a Moms for Liberty chapter in Howard County, which drives anti-LGBTQ+ and inclusion initiatives in public schools, Macfarlane aided in school board campaigns and raised community awareness on the group’s endorsed candidates. As a result, all of the county’s candidates affiliated with Moms for Liberty were defeated.
FFRF Action Fund joins the Victory Fund in endorsing Macfarlane.
Please learn more about Macfarlane by visiting his campaign website here.
