Democratic presidential candidate Martin O'Malley said Friday that he's “most proud” of “standing up for marriage equality as a human right.”

O'Malley made his remarks at the Iowa Spirit Awards in Des Moines, Iowa. The event, hosted by Iowa Safe Schools, celebrates LGBT youth and educators.

At the event, O'Malley touted his record on LGBT rights.

“As Mayor of Baltimore, I signed the state's first anti-transgender discrimination bill,” O'Malley told the audience. “As Governor of Maryland, I expanded our state's longstanding protections against discrimination.”

“But perhaps what I'm most proud of is standing up for marriage equality as a human right,” he added.

While O'Malley has been criticized for not endorsing marriage equality until his second term as governor, there is little doubt he played a pivotal role in passage of a marriage bill in Maryland and defending it from a repeal attempt.

“But our fight is not over,” he said, a reference to the Supreme Court's June ruling striking down gay marriage bans nationwide.

“Nowhere is this work more important than when it comes to preventing and addressing bullying. Today in America, no child should be excluded from getting a safe, quality education.”

“That's why, as president, I would embrace a comprehensive agenda to tackle bullying in every school,” O'Malley pledged.

The presidential candidate also reiterated his support for the Equality Act, which seeks to prohibit anti-LGBT discrimination in seven key areas, including credit, education, employment, federal funding, housing, jury service and public accommodations, by effectively expanding the Civil Rights Act, originally approved in 1964.