Maryland Anti-Same-Sex Marriage Bill Rejected

Tagged with: Emmett C. Burns Maryland Maryland House of Delegates Same-sex marriage

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2/3/10-by Paula Brooks
By a 12-8 vote, the Maryland House of Delegates Judiciary Committee has rejected an effort to prohibit that state from recognizing same-sex marriages lawfully performed elsewhere.

Del. Emmett C. Burns, a Baltimore County Democrat and minister, had proposed that the state, which does not allow same-sex unions, pass a law explicitly declaring that such marriages are illegal, even when performed in another state.

Burn’s measure would have also declared that marriages between individuals of the same sex are against the public policy of the state of Maryland.

Last month when he introduced his bill, Burns said his that with a growing number of nearby states and Washington giving the go ahead for marriage equality, it was especially important for Maryland to close what he called a legal loophole.

During hearings on the bill last week, more than 20 people testified against Burns’ bill, including Candace Gingrich-Jones, sister of former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, while only five people including Burns spoke in support.

The anti-marriage equality proposal was seen as a preemptive strike against a legal opinion that state Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler has been working on since a senator requested it last year.

Most Maryland State House insiders predict that the states Attorney General will, follow the state’s long practice of recognizing unions, including common-law marriages, that are illegal in Maryland but lawful elsewhere and allow same-sex marriages to be recognized in Maryland.

While Maryland law does not recognize same-sex marriage, the state’s current practice on recognizing out-of-state unions does not account for gender, and the state does permit a limited form of domestic partnership.