After just over an hour of debate on Friday afternoon, the House same sex marriage bill was ready for a final vote, scheduled for Friday evening. Amid reports that 200 potential amendments to the polarizing legislation had been drafted, only five were actually offered during the afternoon session and only one passed. [...more]
Amendments and debate on the same-sex marriage bill in the House of Delegates were postponed until Friday to give delegates more time to consider amendments. But not before an amendment to delay the implementation date of the bill to Jan. 1, 2013 was added by voice vote. [...more]
Opponents of same-sex marriage are circulating a video of Attorney General Doug Gansler addressing a Equality Maryland event five months ago, suggesting that it “reveals great reason for suspicion regarding the referendum process” likely to occur if the law passes.In the video, Gansler says that even if the same-sex marriage law is enacted, and then voters reject it, new judges appointed by Gov. Martin O’Malley will ultimately rule Maryland’s one man-one woman marriage law unconstitutional. [...more]
Duane Keenan talked to several delegates on Wednesday about Thursday’s same-sex marriage debate on the floor of the House of Delegates. Listen to his podcast here. [...more]
With a joint committee vote of 25-18, including a lone Republican supporter, a bill allowing same-sex marriage in Maryland was sent to the full House of Delegates to be voted on as soon as this week. [...more]
Beneath the monument to Thurgood Marshall with the engraved words “Equal Justice Under Law,” around 800 advocates for same-sex marriage rallied on Lawyer’s Mall on Monday evening. Organized by the Marylanders for Marriage Equality coalition, which consists of several state and national organizations, the rally and lobby day -- which flooded House and Senate offices with 15,000 signed postcards urging support for the bill -- came as supporters continue to round up the votes needed to pass the bill in the House of Delegates. [...more]
Advocates for changing the definition of marriage, and those in favor of keeping the traditional one man-one woman definition, took turns testifying before the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee on Tuesday. [...more]
Supporters of traditional marriage rallied in Annapolis on the evening before bills legalizing same-sex marriage are heard in the Maryland Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee. [...more]
Delegate Heather Mizeur supports marriage rights for same-sex couples and Delegate Cathy Vitale gives the argument against the proposal in this discussion with Len Lazarick of MarylandReporter.com. [...more]
The push to authorize same-sex marriage in Maryland had already been a contentious issue at the State House, even before tomorrow’s hearing on the O’Malley administration bill and today’s big rally opposing it. But right after the bill’s introduction last week, the O’Malleys, both husband and wife, managed to press even more same-sex marriage opponents’ hot buttons. [...more]
