Same-sex marriage bill passes Maryland House of Delegates

By John Wagner, Saturday, February 18, 2012

A bill to legalize same-sex marriage won approval in the Maryland House of Delegates on Friday night, capping a dramatic turnaround from a year ago and all but assuring the measure will be sent to Gov. Martin O’Malley (D) for his promised signature.

After a day of emotional and contentious debate, the Democrat-led House voted 71-67 in favor of the bill, sending it to the Senate, which approved a similar measure last year. No senators have announced plans to change their votes.

Maryland is poised to join seven states and the District in allowing gay nuptials, but opponents are widely expected to launch a petition drive that could give Maryland voters the final say on the November ballot.

The state’s move toward same-sex marriage comes amid a fresh wave of momentum nationally for gay-rights activists. Gay nuptials bills were signed by the governors of New York in June and Washington state this month. And just Friday, the New Jersey legislature sent Gov. Chris Christie (R) a same-sex marriage bill, which Christie promptly vetoed as he had promised to do.

In Annapolis, O’Malley and other supporters scrambled in recent days to nail down enough votes to avoid a repeat of last year when the legislation died on the House floor.

Their efforts were buoyed by the support of two Republican delegates who announced their support of the legislation just this week: Robert A. Costa of Anne Arundel County and A. Wade Kach of Baltimore County.

During Friday’s debate, supporters — including seven gay delegates in the chamber — hailed the measure as a major step forward in equal rights. Opponents decried the redefinition of “marriage” and said it was an affront to long-standing religious traditions.

“We should extend to families, same-sex loving couples, the right to marry in a civil ceremony,” Del. Maggie L. McIntosh (D-Baltimore) said in a hushed chamber after relaying her experience coming out as a lesbian. “I’m going to ask you today, my colleagues, to make history.”

Kach told the chamber that his views on the issue changed after a bill hearing last week, when he heard testimony from loving same-sex couples, including some with children. “My constituents did not send me here to judge people,” Kach said.

In the hours before the bill passed, its prospects had appeared clouded by the hospitalization Thursday of a key supporter, Del. Veronica L. Turner (D-Prince George’s).

Although both chambers of Maryland’s legislature are heavily Democratic, the bill proved a tough sell among African American lawmakers from the party, including many Prince George’s delegates, who cited opposition by churches and constituents in their districts.

“Same-sex marriage is wrong,” Del. Emmett C. Burns Jr. (D-Baltimore County) told the chamber before the vote. “I believe that people who are gay have a right to be that, but the word ‘marriage’ should not be attached.”

Burns joined several Republicans in vowing to defeat the measure on the ballot.

One of the unexpected supporters was Del. Tiffany T. Alston (D-Prince George’s), who co-sponsored last year’s bill but withdrew her support in response to what she said was strong opposition in her district.

On Friday, Alston said she was satisfied that the bill would get petitioned to the ballot, in part based on a procedural amendment of hers that the chamber adopted.

“Right now, as a state, it’s time for us to move beyond the issue,” Alston told her colleagues. “I think the community needs to vote on this.”

Friday night’s vote marks a victory for O’Malley, who previously supported civil unions as an alternative to same-sex marriage. The governor agreed to sponsor this year’s in bill in July, in the wake of its failure in the House last year.

O’Malley said his reworked legislation provided greater protections for religious organizations opposed to gay nuptials.

During debate Friday, delegates rejected a proposed amendment, 78 to 45, to legalize civil unions rather than same-sex marriage.

This month, a federal appeals court also declared California’s ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional, saying it was a violation of the equal rights of gay and lesbian couples.