Maryland Delegate Proposes Legislation to Block State From Recognizing Same-Sex Marriages

In May of last year, I reported on an editorial from the Baltimore Sun that pointed out that Maryland's law may not actually block the state from recognizing same-sex marriages, if not allowing the state to perform them.

Shortly after, openly gay Sen. Richard S. Madaleno requested that state Attorney General Douglas Gansler review the law and submit an official opinion regarding same-sex marriage. Gov. Martin O'Malley stated he was open to recognizing such unions if the law permitted.

However, Del. Emmett C. Burns Jr. isn't waiting for Gansler's delayed opinion, sponsoring legislation that would bar the state from recognizing same-sex marriages. Prior attempts in Maryland have failed to get past the House Judiciary Committee.

Blogger Joe.My.God took the words right out of my mouth. "Alarmed by the imminent prospect of happy homo skipping gaily down the aisle in Washington DC and jealous that Harry Bishop wears the mantle of the state's most famous bigot, Maryland state House Delegate Emmett Burns has introduced a bill that would ban recognition of same-sex marriages from any foreign or domestic jurisdiction," he said.

Nothing like selling constituent rights to pander to a right-wing base.

To get involved, go to Equality Maryland.

Maryland's Attorney General Is Expected to Give Favorable Legal Opinion for Marriage Equality Recognition

In June openly gay Sen. Richard S. Madaleno requested the state's attorney general Douglas F. Gansler's opinion on whether or not Maryland's law demands recognition of same-sex marriages legally performed outside of the state.

AG Gansler, a vocal supporter for marriage equality, is putting together his opinion which is expected in the next few weeks. The Washington Blade is reporting that legal experts expect his opinion will favor marriage equality recognition, a move that could open an avenue for legal recognition of gay and lesbian couples who have been rebuffed by the courts and legislature there.

However, this puts Gansler in a difficult position because that law clearly states that marriage is between a man and a woman, but the state also adheres to a long-standing legal principle that generally acknowledges couples married elsewhere.

David Rocah, an American Civil Liberties Union staff attorney, told the Washington Blade that Maryland law is “quite clear that out-of-state [same-sex] marriages should be recognized just like other out-of-state marriages are recognized, even though they couldn’t be entered into in Maryland under Maryland law.”

“There’s no such thing as common law marriage in Maryland, but Maryland courts have held for decades that out-of-state common law marriages will be recognized since marriage is an important relationship and whether or not you’re married shouldn’t depend on crossing a state line,” he said. “If it’s valid when it’s entered into, then that validity travels with you.”

Jana Singer, a law professor at the University of Maryland, said another favorable sign is that in the Maryland high court’s 2007 decision on same-sex marriage, the court “did not say that same-sex marriage violates public policies, but said it was a legislative matter.”

In Maryland, same-sex marriage proposals have remained bottled up in committee. While a legalization bill is expected to have a high-profile sponsor next year in Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee Chairman Brian E. Frosh, a Montgomery County Democrat, the panel's makeup is expected to remain the same, so another deadlock is likely.

Yet if Washington D.C. passes its own marriage equality bill, as is expected, this could have a direct effect on neighboring Maryland.

Maryland's First Muslim State Delegate Supports Marriage Equality

Maryland's first Muslim politician, District 39 state delegate Saqib Ali, came out in support for marriage equality recently in an op-ed for Maryland's community newspaper, the Gazette.

Proposition 8 was probably the single biggest electoral setback in the history of the gay rights movement. However Proposition 8's passage may have sown the seeds of its own demise. And I am hopeful that in the long run, it will be seen as a pyrrhic victory for opponents of equal rights.

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My stance on this issue isn't politically expedient. I am the first Muslim in the legislature. Homosexuality is strictly forbidden in Islam. As such I have evinced much grief from my most conservative supporters.

But I recognize that I represent people of all faiths and no faith at all. If I tried to enforce religion by law — as in a theocracy — I would be doing a disservice to my both constituents and to my religion.

Saqib Ali goes on to say that due to "nakedly political calculations," he believes Maryland won't see marriage equality until October 2011. In the meantime, the state's attorney general, Douglas Gansler, may interpret Maryland's law as allowing the state to recognize legal same-sex marriages performed outside its borders.

Yesterday, Ali was interviewed on NPR with Michel Martin.

What I feel is that people have elected me to not only do what is popular but to do what is right, and I think that's the real definition of a leader. If they just wanted me to do the popular thing, there would really be no point of me being there. I could just, you know, run some polls and put a finger up to the wind and vote that way. But if people always did what was popular only, we probably would never have had the Civil Rights Act in the '60s, and lots of other good ideas would not have become the law of the land. So personally, it's against my religion.

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I represent people who are of all faiths and of no faiths, and if I simply try to force my religion onto all these people and the people of Maryland, as they do in a theocracy, I would be doing a disservice to my constituents and a disservice to my religion, in fact.

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Well, to the members of the clergy and to my family members who are very upset at me, I say, look, I understand that you disagree, and if you are opposed to this, I strongly urge you not to perform same-sex marriages. If you're uncomfortable with it, do not perform them in your church, do not approve them personally, but let those people in this state who want those same rights and protections that come with civil marriage, let them have that. Because it doesn't affect my marriage, it doesn't affect anybody else's marriage, it doesn't harm us in any way.

Thank delegate Saqib Ali by contacting him and expressing your support for his stance.

Maryland Governor O'Malley Open to Recognizing Out-of-State Same-Sex Marriages

Recently, it was made aware that Maryland's law, despite its ban on same-sex marriage, may still allow the state to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states legally.

A public push for Governor O'Malley to request Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler, who supports marriage equality, to review the law followed. It didn't take long for openly gay Sen. Richard S. Madaleno to make the request and now we wait for Gansler's opinion.

However, in the meantime, Gov. O'Malley, whose official stance is that he supports civil unions over granting LGBT citizens marriage, yesterday told WTOP's "Ask the Governor" that "If a person has those rights under another state. ... I think we probably should respect those rights."



O'Malley won't act though until Gansler finishes with the opinion, which could take months. "If the law allows that, then that's what we will do," he said.

State Delegate Don Dwyer told WJLA he wants the voters to decide on this issue. "If I lose and we grant same sex marriages as a result of a defeat of my constitutional amendment, so be it... but at least the people of the state of Maryland have had the final say," he said.

"Again, I'm not homophobic about this specific issue -- I simply believe Maryland law was intended for specific purpose," said Dwyer.

O'Malley spokesman Rick Abbruzzese said O'Malley has no intention of doing anything before Gansler's opinion is issued, saying that is the "prudent" course.

There's a chance that none of this may matter since a marriage equality bill is working its way through the legislative system that would overturn the state's ban on same-sex marriage. Though similar bills have always died in the past, this time Sen. Frosh, a key senator and chair of the Judicial Proceedings Committee, has decided to co-sponsor the bill for next year.

Maryland Attorney General to Give Opinion on Marriage Equality

In an earlier post, Unite the Fight reported that Maryland law may not necessarily recognize same-sex marriages performed in its borders, but may allow recognition of same-sex marriages in other states. I, among many others, asked readers to contact Gov. O'Malley to request Maryland's attorney general to report on what the law actually states.

Good news. Openly gay Sen. Richard S. Madaleno requested the Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler's opinion. "You can't understate the significance of being married," he said. "People in our state get married every day, and to be denied the ability to do that is very dispiriting."

AG Gansler, a vocal supporter for marriage equality, is putting together his opinion in the next few weeks on what Maryland law says about recognizing legally same-sex married couples from other states, a move that could open an avenue for legal recognition of gay and lesbian couples who have been rebuffed by the courts and legislature there.

However, this puts Gansler in a difficult position because that law clearly states that marriage is between a man and a woman, but the state also adheres to a long-standing legal principle that generally acknowledges couples married elsewhere.

"In some ways, this could be a back door toward marriage equality," said Del. Heather R. Mizeur to the Baltimore Sun, a Montgomery County Democrat who obtained a marriage license with her wife, Deborah, last year in California. "I hold out hope for the day that it's part of our everyday culture here in Maryland, and it's no big deal."

In Maryland, gay-marriage proposals have remained bottled up in committee. While a legalization bill is expected to have a high-profile sponsor next year in Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee Chairman Brian E. Frosh, a Montgomery County Democrat, the panel's makeup is expected to remain the same, so another deadlock is likely.

From the Baltimore Sun:

Many states are likely to wrestle with how to address same-sex couples married outside their borders, said Cynthia Callahan, chairwoman of family and juvenile law at the Maryland State Bar Association.

"This is a decision that has many implications," she said. "If marriages were legal where they happened, the question is shouldn't Maryland honor that? The problem, of course, is that this is so politically charged."

The state attorney general's office has periodically weighed in on the question of gay marriages from other states, through advice letters to lawmakers who have inquired about the issue.

Robert A. Zarnoch, a former assistant attorney general, wrote that Maryland law would prohibit the recognition of same-sex unions validly entered in another state. But he also found that the law in this area is far from clear or settled. For instance, he noted that the state honors common-law marriages from other states even though such unions can't be legally entered into here.

UPDATE: Will Maryland Follow DC in Recognizing Same-Sex Marriages in Other States?

UPDATE: An article from the Washington Blade reports that the Attorney General Gansler's office has yet to receive a request from Gov. O'Malley for a review of Maryland law which may allow the state to recognize same-sex marriages performed legally in other states.

With Sen. Frosh, a powerful state senator, agreeing to co-sponsor a marriage equality bill next year, momentum is growing in the state. But in the meantime, continue to call and email the pro-gay governor, urging him to request an opinion from the attorney general on the law! (See info at bottom of post)
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In a piece from the Baltimore Sun, "Rethinking Marriage", support for marriage equality to reach Maryland is backed by the argument that it should first recognize same-sex marriage performed in other states, similar to DC's move last week.

Maryland, where the law requires marriage to be between a man and a woman and where attempts to overturn that requirement have been bottled up in legislative committees, could yet join the national trend. But it will require Gov. Martin O'Malley to demonstrate more than the casual interest he has shown in legalizing civil unions, let alone gay marriage, in the past.

What Mr. O'Malley must do is this: Ask Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler for a legal opinion determining whether Maryland law permits the state to recognize same-sex marriages performed elsewhere. And if Mr. Gansler finds that it does, the governor should immediately sign an executive order directing state agencies to adjust their rules and regulations to do so.
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And Mr. Gansler is likely to give that interpretation of the law every opportunity to prevail. He has publicly endorsed legalizing same-sex marriage.

The piece goes on to say this would definitely not be the last word on LGBT equality in the state and that full marriage equality must arrive in "a law explicitly authorizing same-sex marriage." But in the meantime, recognition would blunt a lot of conservative opposition.

So I submit this question to us: Why wait for the apathetic governor to ask the attorney general? If there's a chance that Maryland law could recognize our marriages, let's demand they do!

ACTION: Contact AG Douglas F. Gansler and urge him to evaluate Maryland law. Even if doesn't go anywhere, it will stir up the conversation of marriage equality in the "Old Line State."

Main telephone number
(410) 576-6300 or 1 (888) 743-0023 toll-free in Maryland
TDD: (410) 576-6372
Opinions, Advice and Legislation: (410) 576-6327

Mailing address
Office of the Attorney General
200 St. Paul Place
Baltimore, MD 21202
Email: oag@oag.state.md.us

If you're feeling very active, contact the governor, too, and urge him for an evaluation of the law.

Reach out to Equality Maryland to see how else you can get involved.

Related Unite the Fight post on attorney general's sticking up for marriage equality, CA AG Jerry Brown tell CA Supreme Court to overturn Prop 8.

Key Maryland Senator to Co-Sponsor Marriage Equality Bill

Unite the Fight recently posted a piece questioning whether Maryland could be the next step to recognize same-sex marriages due to the fact that their law doesn't ban the state from recognizing such marriages performed legally in other states.

As a result, we called an action for all to contact the pro-gay Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler and Gov. Martin O'Malley to evaluate the law. (And keep this up!)

Though recognition of same-sex marriages would be great, it's looking like Maryland is taking a step closer in performing those marriages itself.

The Gazette reports that key senator and chair of the Judicial Proceedings Committee, Brian Frosh, has announced that he plans to co-sponsor a marriage equality bill next year with Sen. Richard S. Madaleno Jr., who is openly gay and past sponsor of the bill.

Frosh has overseen the marriage debate in his committee for three years and had declined to sponsor any bill until now.

"But after three years I think that is no longer an issue," Frosh said. "I have chaired the hearings hopefully in a way that has been seen as fair, and there have not been complaints."

But why next year? Because the issue failed to get a vote in the 2009 General Assembly.

"We could have pushed harder, of course, but at the same time we were aware there were more votes that we needed," said Kate Runyon, executive director of Equality Maryland.

Supporters in the legislature say the question isn't "if," it's "when."