Benjamin Scott Barnes (born March 30, 1975) is an American politician who represents District 21 in the Maryland House of Delegates.

[1] He graduated from Eleanor Roosevelt High School in 1993 before enrolling at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics and political science in 1998.

During his time with Miller, Barnes attended night classes at the University of Baltimore School of Law, graduating with a Juris Doctor in 2003.

[2] During the 2008 presidential campaign, Barnes was elected and served as a pledged delegate for Hillary Clinton to the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado.

[15] Barnes was the original House sponsor of the Civil Marriage Protection Act,[16] arguing in 2011 that Maryland was discriminating against gay couples by not allowing them to marry.