New York ( CNN ) -- New York City 's billionaire three-term mayor has tapped into his personal fortune to further the cause of same-sex marriage , donating $ 250,000 to support the issue in Maryland where voters will get the chance to weigh in at the ballot box come November . `` Maryland will always hold a special place in my heart . ... So when Governor ( Martin ) O'Malley asked me to support Question 6 , I did n't hesitate , '' said Michael Bloomberg , who attended college at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore . Maryland residents are scheduled to cast their ballot November 6 on what 's known as Question 6 , voting either to uphold or strike down a bill legalizing same-sex marriage that was signed into law in March by O'Malley . With the law , Maryland joined seven states and Washington , D.C. , in allowing gay couples to wed , but it is n't scheduled to take effect until January 1 , giving both its opponents and advocates a chance to ratchet up campaign efforts to sway voters . Bloomberg , who has been a staunch supporter of gay rights in New York , made the donation earlier this month , according to a Friday statement from City Hall spokesman John McCarthy . Currently , Massachusetts , Connecticut , Iowa , Vermont , New Hampshire , New York and the District of Columbia issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples . In February , Washington state Gov . Christine Gregoire signed a bill into law that legalizes same-sex marriage , but that state similarly faces a referendum challenge in November . Both Maine and Minnesota are also voting on the issue November 6 . Five states -- Delaware , Hawaii , Illinois , New Jersey and Rhode Island -- currently allow civil unions that provide rights similar to marriage . In California , a federal appeals court ruled against a voter-passed referendum that outlawed same-sex marriage . It said such a ban was unconstitutional and that it singled out gays and lesbians for discrimination . That case appears to be eventually headed to the U.S. Supreme Court .
Maryland residents are scheduled to cast their ballot November 6 . They will vote either to uphold or strike down a bill legalizing same-sex marriage . Bloomberg made the donation earlier this month .