Maryland set to expand gay rights, same-sex marriage

Contents:

• GAY MARRIAGE
• IN MARYLAND, HOE PASS BILL TO LET GAYS WED
• MARYLAND SET TO EXPAND GAY RIGHTS, SAME-SEX MARRIAGE
• CALIFORNIA STILL HAS AN ANTI-GAY MARRIAGE LAW. VOTERS ULD REMOVE NEXT YEAR
• MARYLAND JUDGE REJECTS GAY-MARRIAGE BAN
• GAY MARRIAGE A TOUGH SELL WH BLACKS MARYLAND
• MARYLAND: GAY COUPL TAKE VOWS

GAY MARRIAGE

Early Years: Same-Sex Marriage Bans In 1970, jt one year after the historic Stonewall Rts that galvanized the gay rights movement, law stunt Richard Baker and librarian Jam McConnell applied for a marriage license Gerald Nelson rejected their applitn bee they were a same-sex uple, and a trial urt upheld his cisn. ” This lg effectively blocked feral urts om lg on same-sex marriage for s, leavg the cisn solely the hands of stat, which alt blow after blow to those hopg to see gay marriage beg 1973, for stance, Maryland beme the first state to create a law that explicly f marriage as a unn between a man and woman, a belief held by many nservative relig groups. Though the gay rights movement saw some advancements the 1970s and 1980s—such as Harvey Milk beg the first openly gay man elected to public office the untry 1977—the fight for gay marriage ma ltle headway for many years.

In 1989, the San Francis Board of Supervisors passed an ordance that allowed homosexual upl and unmarried heterosexual upl to register for domtic partnerships, which granted hospal visatn rights and other years later, the District of Columbia siarly passed a new law that allowed same-sex upl to register as domtic partners.

IN MARYLAND, HOE PASS BILL TO LET GAYS WED

C., 1993, the hight urt Hawaii led that a ban on same-sex marriage may vlate that state nstutn’s Equal Protectn Clse—the first time a state urt has ever ched toward makg gay marriage Hawaii Supreme Court sent the se—brought by a gay male uple and two lbian upl who were nied marriage licens 1990—back for further review to the lower First Circu Court, which 1991 origally dismissed the the state tried to prove that there was “pellg state tert” jtifyg the ban, the se would be tied up ligatn for the next three Defense of Marriage Act Opponents of gay marriage, however, did not s on their hnch.

Congrs 1996 passed the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which Print Bill Clton signed to didn’t ban gay marriage outright but specified that only heterosexual upl uld be granted feral marriage benefs. That is, even if a state ma gay marriage legal, same-sex upl still wouldn’t be able to file e tax jotly, sponsor spo for immigratn benefs or receive spoal Social Secury payments, among many other act was a huge setback for the marriage equaly movement, but transient good news arose three months later: Hawaii Judge Kev S. Phg for Change: Civil Unns The next saw a whirlwd of activy on the gay marriage ont, begng wh the year 2000 when Vermont beme the first state to legalize civil unns, a legal stat that provis most of the state-level benefs of years later, Massachetts beme the first state to legalize gay marriage when the Massachetts Supreme Court led that same-sex upl had the right to marry Goodridge v.

MARYLAND SET TO EXPAND GAY RIGHTS, SAME-SEX MARRIAGE

The state fally troduced the untry to gay marriage (m the feral benefs) when began issug same-sex marriage licens on May 17, that year, the U. 2004 was notable for upl many other stat as well, though for the oppose reason: Ten typilly nservative stat, along wh Oregon, enacted state-level bans on gay marriage.

CALIFORNIA STILL HAS AN ANTI-GAY MARRIAGE LAW. VOTERS ULD REMOVE NEXT YEAR

Kansas and Texas were next 2005, and 2006 saw seven more stat passg Constutnal amendments agast gay towards the end of the , gay marriage beme legal var stat, cludg Connecticut, Iowa, Vermont (the first state to approve by legislative means) and New Hampshire.

Domtic Partnerships Throughout the and the begng of the next, California equently ma headl for seawg on the gay marriage state was the first to pass a domtic partnership statute 1999, and legislators tried to pass a same-sex marriage bill 2005 and 2007. Perry legalized same-sex marriage early 2010s ntued the state-level battl over gay marriage that fed the precedg , wh at least one notable event. For the first time the untry’s history, voters (rather than judg or legislators) Mae, Maryland, and Washgton approved Constutnal amendments permtg same-sex marriage marriage also beme a feral issue 2010, Massachetts, the first state to legalize gay marriage, found Sectn 3 of DOMA—the part of the 1996 law that fed marriage as a unn between one man and one woman—to be unnstutnal.

MARYLAND JUDGE REJECTS GAY-MARRIAGE BAN

Wdsor, nservative Jtice Anthony Kennedy sid wh Jtic Ruth Bar Gsburg, Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan favor of same-sex marriage rights, ultimately makg gay marriage legal across the natn June this time, was still outlawed only 13 stat, and more than 20 other untri had already legalized gay marriage, startg wh the Netherlands December 2000. 2 of the 2012 Legislative Ssn)Establish that Maryland’s civil marriage laws allow gay and lbian upl to obta a civil marriage license, provid they are not otherwise prohibed om marryg; protects clergy om havg to perform any particular marriage ceremony vlatn of their relig beliefs; affirms that each relig fah has exclive ntrol over s own theologil doctre regardg who may marry wh that fah; and provis that relig anizatns and certa related enti are not required to provi goods, servic, or benefs to an dividual related to the celebratn or promotn of marriage vlatn of their relig beliefs.

Catholics for Equaly praised the passage of the law and learship of Catholics the General Assembly, sayg, "This bill not only betters the liv of lbian and gay upl and their children, but the liv of our Catholic fai throughout the ’s celebratn Maryland is a remr to all Amerin Catholics that our fah muny plays a cril role advancg LGBT equaly. The law will not take effect until June at the earlit, and opponents are tryg to anize a November ballot iative blockg same-sex marriage is legal, has been due to urt lgs and legislative actn, sce popular vot have nsistently backed state bans on gay nuptials. The admistratn of Print Barack Obama announced Febary, 2011 that believed the law was unnstutnal and the admistratn would no longer fend is a timele of laws on gay marriage the Uned Stat:* November 18, 2003 - Massachetts’ top urt led that same-sex upl had the right to marry.

* April 7, 2009 - Vermont lawmakers overro a ernor’s veto of a gay-marriage bill, makg the New England state the first the untry to legalize gay marriage wh a legislative vote.

GAY MARRIAGE A TOUGH SELL WH BLACKS MARYLAND

* June 3, 2009 - New Hampshire thorized same-sex nuptials after s Democratic-ntrolled Hoe of Reprentativ endorsed gay marriage, hours after the state Senate approved the legislatn along party l. Appeals urt led that California’s gay marriage ban vlat the nstutn a se that is likely to lead to a showdown on the issue the Supreme Court. * Febary 8, 2012 - The Washgton state Hoe of Reprentativ passed legislatn to legalize gay marriage and sent to Governor Christe Gregoire for signature.

The group also published an onle opn by parents statg that legalizg same-sex marriage would lead to the promotn of homosexualy school curriculum. In the six stat – Massachetts, Connecticut, Iowa, Vermont, New Hampshire and New York – and the District of Columbia where gays and lbians have prevly won marriage rights, was bee of actns taken by judg or legislators, not voters.

”The bate stretched for hours the 18th-century, woon-domed statehoe, and was punctuated by emotnal entreati by supporters of the bill, cludg several gay and lbian legat, who talked about their own liv, and other legat who voked Jim Crow laws. “But when that day , I know that for the seven openly gay lleagu, if they are able to have the same rights as my wife and I have, then I know that my green vote was the right vote. A versn of this article appears prt on, Sectn A, Page 13 of the New York edn wh the headle: In Maryland, Hoe Pass Bill to Allow Gays to Wed.

MARYLAND: GAY COUPL TAKE VOWS

Not only are Democrats optimistic about their chanc of approvg same-sex marriage, but a leadg Republin, sensg momentum on the issue, has stead untered wh a proposal to grant civil unns to gay upl.