Religious leaders testify against O'Malley's same-sex marriage bill

Though several hundred people attended, the hearing had the feel of a dress rehearsal for the big show, a similar hearing in the House of Delegates. ...

Baltimore Sun • Feb 1, 2012

Gregoire proposes bill to legalize gay marriage

Supporters admit they don't yet have the votes in Olympia to pass a same-sex marriage bill. They will need at least a few Republicans to sign on, since some of the more conservative Democrats are still opposed to gay marriage. If the bill is approved by the Legislature, Washington would become the seventh state in the country to legalize gay marriage. The Legislature begins its 2012 session on M...

Baltimore Sun • Jan 5, 2012

The year ahead in Maryland politics

Building on the experience of lawmakers in New York, which legalized gay marriage a few months after the legislation failed here, advocates have developed a smart, coordinated campaign to win over a few more supporters. But their biggest coup was getting Gov. Martin O'Malley to agree to sponsor the legislation and make it a priority for this General Assembly session....

Baltimore Sun • Dec 30, 2011

Foes of same-sex marriage launch coalition

Religious opponents of a planned push to bring same-sex marriage to Maryland have launched a new coalition, bringing their organizing efforts into two Democratic strongholds that are expected to be a battleground for the votes of African-American legislators. The Maryland Marriage Alliance, described as a multi-racial and bipartisan coalition of supporters of the traditional definition of marriag...

Baltimore Sun • Nov 30, 2011

Ravens linebacker pushes for same-sex marriage

Ravens player Brendon Ayanbadejo is putting his considerable heft behind passing a gay marriage bill in Maryland and will star in a new video that will be released today pushing for the measure. In the video Ayanbadejo looks directly into the camera and says: "I believe we should be doing everything that we can to make Maryland families stronger which is why I support marriage for gay and lesbian...

Baltimore Sun • Oct 21, 2011

Md. gay marriage: Justice delayed

The issue is not dead; if vote tallies change, the bill could theoretically be brought back to the floor, though House Speaker Michael E. Busch indicated he doesn't expect that to happen. But advocates should also bear in mind that although this year appeared from the beginning like a magical opportunity, it is not the only one. Nothing will change between now and 2012 other than the steady growth...

Baltimore Sun • Mar 20, 2011

Holdout apparently will support gay marriage

The Baltimore Democrat said she was withholding support to call attention to other issues -- education funding, joint custody of children in divorces -- that she says she views as "more important, or at least equally important." It's unclear whether the House Judiciary Committee will try again today to take a vote on the Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Protection Act. The plan needs 12 commi...

Baltimore Sun • Mar 2, 2011

Maryland: Same-sex marriage bill passes first hurdle in Senate

Maryland's Senate voted 25-22 in favor of allowing same-sex couples to marry after a fairly short and focused debate. The bill has not yet cleared the body, but the vote is a positive sign for supporters of the legislation. It could go to final passage as early as Thursday....

Baltimore Sun • Feb 23, 2011

Maryland: What's next for gay marriage

If a bill does get to Gov. Martin O'Malley, he has pledged to sign it. But the story isn't over there. Citizens have the right to petition any act of the General Assembly to referendum, although it happens rarely on statewide issues. A petition would need 55,736 signatures to get on the ballot -- difficult, certainly, but on an issue like this, hardly insurmountable. For context, the petition that...

Baltimore Sun • Feb 19, 2011

Gay marriage has the votes to clear Md. Senate

Sen. James Rosapepe just issued an email to constituents saying that he will support the same-sex marriage bill. That means 24 senators have publicly committed to vote for the bill -- enough for passage....

Baltimore Sun • Feb 18, 2011

Md. should be a leader on gay marriage

So far, five American states have legalized gay marriage: four New England states - Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts and Vermont - plus (more surprisingly) Iowa, heart of heartland America. Why isn't Maryland, one of the nation's more progressive states, a member of this small but growing club? The proximate reason is that the state judiciary has yet to rule in favor of gay marriage. In Septemb...

Baltimore Sun • Aug 25, 2009

MD: Rethinking marriage

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 t...

Baltimore Sun • May 10, 2009

Md. Senate backs tax break for same-sex partners

The Maryland Senate has endorsed exempting gay domestic partners who co-own homes from state inheritance taxes. The Senate voted 28-19 Tuesday to approve a bill that would add same-sex domestic partners to the list of family members who can inherit homes without paying taxes on that property. The exemption would only apply to the couple's primary residence and the property must be jointly owned t...

Baltimore Sun • Apr 7, 2009

Gilchrest offers support in Annapolis for gay marriage

Gilchrest came out of political retirement to share a personal view of the issue -- his brother David is gay and married to his longtime partner in Massachusetts. Gilchrest, who opposed changing the U.S. Constitution to ban gay marriage, argued that the unions should be allowed as a matter of "social justice, civil rights and a more viable democracy." Britt, who met his wife while on a freedom ri...

Baltimore Sun • Mar 13, 2009