Tag: Maryland

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Third GOP lawmaker supports Maryland marriage equality bill

On Feb. 14, Del. Bob Costa (R) voted for the bill in committee, saying, “I represent constituents and not a party.”

Today, Del. Wade Kach (R) announced that he would be supporting the Civil Marriage Protection Act. Marylanders for Marriage Equality, the coalition working to pass the bill, issued a statement.

Sen. Allan Kittleman (R) was the sole Republican supporting marriage equality last year and, according to Marylanders for Marriage Equality, reaffirmed his unwavering support at a rally in Lawyer’s Mall on Monday evening.

Interestingly, when Del. Sam Arora (D) campaigned for office in 2010, Equality Maryland endorsed him because he indicated support for marriage equality, and he even co-sponsored the legislation when it was first introduced last year. But when it came time to vote, Arora wavered and ultimately conceded that he opposed marriage equality and only wanted to support civil unions.

But now the question has come back around, and the stakes are high for Arora. The Maryland House of Delegates is set to begin debate on marriage equality legislation today with a vote by tomorrow, and at last count, the bill is one vote short of passage. Sam Arora could be the necessary last vote.

Will he honor his promises to his constituents? We’ll know soon.

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Maryland Delegate Sam Arora ducks voting on marriage equality

Via Americablog Gay: The marriage equality bill in Maryland took a big step last night by passing in the House Judiciary Committee.

However, Delegate Sam Arora, who ran as a pro-equality candidate and purports to be a progressive, is acknowledging his conversion to homophobia. Sam Arora did not vote last night on the bill.

Two years ago, when Sam Arora was a candidate for delegate in Maryland, he wanted the endorsement of Equality Maryland. He filled out the questionnaire, which we’ve posted below.  Arora even added an impassioned addendum. He also did an in-person interview with Equality Maryland. From every indication, he was a strong supporter of LGBT equality, including marriage. In the general election, Arora got the endorsement of Equality Maryland.

I would encourage members of the Maryland LGBT community to ask why he has disappeared on issues important to the community when he vigorously courted our support. Contact info is below.

Twitter: @Sam_Arora
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sam-Arora/334183772314
(410) 841-3528, (301) 858-3528
1-800-492-7122, ext. 3528 (toll free)
e-mail: sam.arora@house.state.md.us
fax: (410) 841-3011, (410) 841-3528, (301) 858-3528, (240) 245-0018

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Maryland 14 year old asks legislators to vote ‘no’ on gay marriage

The Maryland Senate Judiciary Committee heard testimony on Tuesday from advocates and opponents of the marriage equality bill currently pending in the state legislature.

Among those testifying were 14-year-old Sarah Crank, who told legislators that it “would be the best birthday present ever if you would vote no on gay marriage.”

“I really feel bad for the kids who have two parents of the same gender,” she said. […] “They have no idea what kind of wonderful experiences they miss out on.”

“People have the choice to be gay, but I don’t want to be affected by their choice. People say they were just born that way, but I’ve met really nice adults who did change.”

Listen — audio courtesy of Think Progress:

“It’s rather scary to think that when I grow up the legislature or the court can change the definition of any word they want,” she added.

“If they could change the definition of marriage then they could change the definition of any word,” said the home schooled teen.

Imagine being 14 years old and asking – as a birthday present – that legislators deny equal rights to other people.

Just think about that.

Think about the parents that raised a child to stand in front of the world and ask that people be denied equal rights.

Please think about it. And after you think on that, please tell me you’re sad.

I was raised in Texas where I COULD have had a red-neck, bigoted father who might have beat me for being who I am. Thank god my father was the amazing man he was.

This little girl… wish her good luck.

That’s all I got….

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50% of Marylanders support same-sex marriage

Half of Maryland residents now favor the legalization of same-sex marriage, but support varies significantly along the sensitive lines of race, religion and age, a Washington Post poll has found.

Overall, the Post poll found that 50 percent of Marylanders support allowing gay and lesbian couples to marry while 44 percent are opposed.

The new poll found a sharp divide among Maryland Democrats based on race. Among whites, 71 percent support same-sex marriage, while 24 percent do not. Among blacks, 41 percent are supportive, while 53 percent are opposed. Maryland has the largest concentration of African Americans of any state outside of the Deep South.

In recent public appearances, O’Malley has sought to stress that “religious exemptions” included in his bill are intended to reassure religious leaders that they will not be forced to perform same-sex marriages.

The poll found that nearly three-quarters of those opposed to gay nuptials say their views stem primarily from their religious beliefs — a factor that makes lobbying on the issue more challenging.

As in other parts of the country, there has been a trend in recent years of growing support for gay unions in Maryland, driven in part by the views of younger people.

The mindset of Daniel Carlin-Weber, 23, is fairly typical of his generation. A Dundalk resident who works at a film and video production company, Carlin-Weber got married in August and said he sees no reason why gay couples shouldn’t enjoy the same rights as he and his wife.

“We’re allowed tax benefits, things like that, and it’s a nice seal of approval — you know, these guys are a couple,” he said. “I feel everyone else should be treated the same way. There’s no reason not to do that.”

Among Democrats in Maryland, support has grown more rapidly among whites than blacks. During the past five years, support among whites has edged up, while support among black has been flat.

“It’s mostly a religious thing,” said Margaret Turner, 34, a Silver Spring resident who is a manger at a McDonald’s restaurant.

Read more at the Washington Post

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Governors Gregoire and O’Malley on marriage equality

Democratic Governors Martin O’Malley (MD) and Chris Gregoire (WA), who are both pursuing marriage equality bills in their state legislatures this session, appeared on MSNBC this morning to join the growing outcry against Gov. Chris Christie’s (R-NJ) suggestion that voters should decide if gay and people can marry:

– O’MALLEY: “I think the best resolution of these sorts of things… best that it happened legislatively. Sometimes, we have to go to court to get that done as a country. Other times, it’s a combination of several steps — courts, the people deciding, but ultimately, Americans resolve these issues by extending rights more fully and more equally to all individuals.

– GREGOIRE: : “I don’t want [lawmakers] to say instead of taking the tough vote, send it to the voters. They were elected to make these decisions, it’s time for them to do so.”
(source)

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Maryland State Bar endorses marriage equality

The Maryland State Bar Association has announced its endorsement of a same-sex marriage bill sponsored by Democratic Gov. Martin O’Malley.

“I could not be prouder of our endorsement, which while protective of religious sensibilities and prerogatives, clearly and emphatically extends those civil rights embodied in our fundamental belief that ‘all men are created equal’ — and not simply ‘all heterosexual persons are created equal’ — to our entire citizenry,” said Maryland State Bar Association President Henry E. Dugan Jr. in a statement.

The bill is scheduled for a formal hearing before the Senate on Tuesday.

The Senate passed marriage legislation last year, but the the Maryland House of Delegates didn’t have enough votes to pass the measure.

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Maryland Gov. O’Malley to introduce same-sex marriage bill Monday

Gov. Martin O’Malley is expected Monday to introduce most of his proposed legislation for this year’s General Assembly.

Among the bills the Democratic governor is expected to submit is one to legalize same-sex marriage, an O’Malley spokeswoman said.

Yet lawmakers are expected to take relatively fast action on the governor’s gay-marriage bill that should draw national attention.

Mr. Miller has said the Senate will take up the issue before the House and could move to pass the bill as soon as possible.

The bill is expected to pass the Senate with support from 25 of 47 senators but could have trouble in the 141-member House where it died last year.

Mr. Barve said Democratic leaders are working to gain support for the bill but remain three votes short of a majority.

“I believe we’ll get there, but it’s going to be a tough fight again,” he said.

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Maryland Dem Senate President speaks out against marriage equality

Democratic Maryland Senate President Mike Miller spoke out against efforts to pass marriage equality in that state using rhetoric he compared to “one of the Republican candidates for President,” saying that he considers same-sex marriage to be an attack on the family.

The conversation took place yesterday morning on The Marc Steiner Show, and also featured Speaker of the House Michael Busch (D), who called marriage equality “a civil rights issue”.

Said Miller: “I’m a historian and I look at civilizations, I study civilizations, I read history every night. And I see it’s an attack on the family, I think it’s an attack on traditional families. That’s the way I see it.”

The Log Cabin Republicans lashed out at Miller and at LGBT advocacy organizations in a press release today:

“Democrat Maryland Senate President Mike Miller is trying to divert attention away from his anti-gay pandering by hiding behind certain conservative candidates, but the truth is he is badly out of step with Marylanders, including Republican State Senator Allan Kittleman, who voted in favor of marriage equality last year and continues to be a champion on this issue,” said R. Clarke Cooper, Executive Director of Log Cabin Republicans. “Between this and his attack on a transgender rights bill last session as also being ‘anti-family,’ it appears that Senator Miller has taken it upon himself to be the arbiter of what Maryland families deserve protecting. It is particularly frustrating to watch certain advocacy organizations, such as National Stonewall Democrats, let him get away with it again because of his partisan affiliation. Miller’s disrespect for LGBT Maryland families is backwards, and everyone should hold him accountable for it.”

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Maryland Gov. O’Malley supports marriage equality for 2012

Governor Martin O’Malley is a Marylander for marriage equality.

The Democratic Governor on Monday released a video in which he called for balancing religious freedom with the freedom to marry.

“As a free and diverse people of many different faiths, we choose to be governed under the law by certain fundamental principles, among them, equal protection of the law for every individual and the free exercise of religion without government intervention,” O’Malley says in the video.

“The legislation we plan to introduce in the 2012 legislative session will protect religious freedom and equality of marital rights under the law,” he said.

O’Malley has said he wants marriage equality legislation approved in the Maryland legislature’s 2012 session, and that he would make it a priority of his administration.

The Governor told reporters in July that he would borrow elements of the strategy used by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and marriage equality supporters in the Empire State to sponsor and pass a marriage equality bill in the session that begins in January.

O’Malley’s appearance marks the first advert sponsored by “Marylanders for Marriage Equality,” a coalition of groups working to pass the legislation.
(via LGBTQnation)

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New approach to marriage equality in Maryland

A coalition of organizations will announce a new campaign to win marriage equality in Maryland at a news conference today.

The list of groups involved in the new effort includes Equality Maryland, Progressive Maryland, the ACLU, Human Rights Campaign, Freedom to Marry, Service Employees International Union and more.

The goal of the new effort is to pass a marriage equality bill in the 2012 Maryland legislative session, which begins in January. A marriage equality bill died in the House of Delegates in March after passing the Senate. Gov. Martin O’Malley has pledged to sign such a bill.

Read more at the Washington Blade.