- June 2013
- May 2013
- April 2013
- March 2013
- February 2013
- January 2013
- December 2012
- November 2012
- October 2012
- September 2012
- August 2012
- July 2012
- June 2012
- May 2012
- April 2012
- March 2012
- February 2012
- January 2012
- December 2011
- November 2011
- October 2011
- September 2011
- August 2011
- July 2011
- June 2011
- May 2011
- April 2011
- March 2011
- February 2011
- January 2011
- December 2010
- November 2010
- October 2010
- September 2010
- August 2010
- July 2010
- June 2010
- May 2010
- April 2010
- March 2010
- February 2010
- January 2010
- December 2009
- November 2009
- March 2009
- October 2006
- July 2002
America's Leading Gay News Source
O’Malley pushes marriage bill in address
Gov. Martin O'Malley testifies before the Senate Judicial Proceedings committee. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
One day after testifying before the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee, Gov. Martin O’Malley called for a bill to extend marriage rights to same-sex couples during his State of the State address.
“It’s not right and it’s not just that children of gay couples should have less protection than the children of other families in the state,” he said.
At the committee hearing on Jan. 31, O’Malley was among several prominent elected officials to testify on behalf of the bill. “This bill balances an individual’s civil marriage rights with the important protections of religious freedoms for all,” O’Malley said. “And because it protects both of these inalienable rights, it is supported by a broad coalition of Marylanders, which includes clergy, community leaders, faith-based organizations, civil rights groups and those who hold the most important title of all in our democracy, and that title is citizen.”
Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, Maryland Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler, Sens. Richard Madaleno, Jamie Raskin and Robert Garagiola—all Democrats—and Sen. Allan H. Kittleman, a Republican, also lent support.
Tagged with Allan Kittleman, Civil Marriage Protection Act, Douglas Gansler, gay marriage, gay news, gay politics dc, Jamie Raskin, Martin O'Malley, Maryland, Richard Madaleno, Robert Garagiola, same-sex marriage, Stephanie Rawlings-Blake
We welcome your thoughtful, respectful comments. Please read our 'Terms of Service' page for more information about community expectations.
Comments from new visitors, flagged users, or those containing questionable language are automatically held for moderation and may not appear immediately.
view print edition
The religious protections essentially restate legal principles that are already in effect for the benefit of the clueless members and clergy of sex-based churches. Churches have always been able to make rules about who is and is not eligible to be married in the church, and clergy (as well as lay marriage celebrants in Virginia) can turn people down. Under the first amendment, that can’t change. Broadening civil marriage to include everyone also doesn’t change anything for clerks of the court, since they do not now and never have had the ability to exercise personal discretion about whom they marry.
[Translate]