Tag Archives: Maryland

Many are looking to Maryland to become the next state to approve marriage equality and with Gov. O’Malley winning reelection, that prospect looks brighter. O’Malley has vowed to sign a marriage bill should it reach his desk. Big win for LGBT rights!

Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley said yesterday that if a marriage equality bill were to reach his desk, he would sign it. O’Malley had previously only gone as far as endorsing civil unions. “I don’t have a crystal ball to predict how this goes,” O’Malley said, “but I do know this: I know the people of our state well enough that …

As we learned yesterday, NOM had the Courage Campaign’s cameraman thrown out of the rally in Maryland, but not before its laughable attendance was recorded.

Equality Maryland reports that the evil “Truth Truck” is in Annapolis as anti-gay bigots ramp up their campaign to turn back the decision to recognize legal same-sex marriages from other jurisdictions. Today, Equality Maryland staff members are on the ground in Annapolis ensuring that in the final days of the 2010 legislative session we halt any last minute attempts to …

Maryland state Delegate Don Dwyer says he’s going to have Attorney General Douglas Gansler impeached for the crime of recognizing same-sex unions from other states. Mr. Dwyer said that Mr. Gansler overstepped his authority in issuing a legal opinion last month saying the state would recognize same-sex marriages from other places and ordering state agencies to give gay married couples …

Maryland state Delegate Anthony O’Donnell and his GOP counterparts in the state Senate want to reverse the recent decision to recognize out of state same-sex marriages. In fact, they say that overturning the ruling is an emergency matter of public health. Equality Maryland responds: House Bill 1532 and Senate Bill 1120 Contains False Assertions About Protecting Public Health Or Safety. …

By executive order, last week Virginia Gov. Bob McConnell excluded LGBT residents from state employment protections. In return, gay rights groups are now lobbying defense contractor Northrop Grumman to reject Virginia as the location for its new national headquarters. One Maryland politician is leaping to take advantage of his state’s new recognition of same-sex marriages. In a letter sent Thursday …

“Maryland’s statutory law clearly states that ‘Only a marriage between a man and a woman is valid’ in Maryland. The Maryland Supreme Court upheld the law and stated clearly it was the province of the legislature to change it. What part of the law doesn’t the Attorney General understand? What other laws is he unwilling to enforce? This is an …

Maryland Attorney General Douglas Gansler issued an opinion today saying that the recognition of same-sex marriages from other jurisdictions is consistent with Maryland state law. This is an amazing development coming just days away from same-sex marriage become legal in Washington DC. From Lambda Legal, via press release: Statement from Susan Sommer, Director of Constitutional Litigation at Lambda Legal: “This …

Due to a 2006 lawsuit, some Maryland high schools have been forced to allow the distribution of “ex-gay” fliers by PFOX. Some Montgomery County high schools passed out fliers this week from an organization that contends gays can become heterosexual through therapy, and the schools say they cannot prevent the use of their distribution system by such groups. The fliers, …

Alarmed by the imminent prospect of happy homo skipping gaily down the aisle in Washington DC and jealous that Harry Bishop wears the mantle of the state’s most famous bigot, Maryland state House Delegate Emmett Burns has introduced a bill that would ban recognition of same-sex marriages from any foreign or domestic jurisdiction. The bill also declares that such unions …

The governors of Maryland and Virginia, both of whom are Catholic, appeared on DC-area radio yesterday to blast DC’s Catholic Charities over the organization’s threat to suspend homeless services should same-sex marriage become legal in the District. Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine and Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley criticized the Catholic Archdiocese of Washington’s response to the district’s gay marriage proposal during …

Openly gay Annapolis city council candidate Scott Bowling, a Republican, is being smeared as a child molester by an anonymous group urging support for his Democratic opponent. A flier circulated by an anonymous group called ‘Friends and Supporters of Black Annapolis’ attacked Scott Bowling, a Republican running for the Ward 3 City Council seat who is openly gay. It is …

“Death to Obama. Death to Obama, Michelle and her two stupid kids.” The Secret Service took the man into custody outside a town hall meeting on health care reform being held by Sen. Ben Cardin (D) in Hagerstown, Maryland. The Freepers are convinced he was planted by liberals.

Outsiders crowded a meeting of the DC city council yesterday as the council deliberated whether putting a same-sex marriage referendum to voters violates the city’s 1996 Human Rights Act, which lists eight items than can never be put to a popular vote. One Maryland man told that council that discrimination against homosexuals was “positive discrimination” because “all gay sex acts …

The attorney general of Maryland is looking into allowing the state to recognize same-sex marriages from other jurisdictions. Maryland law defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman. But the state also sticks to a long-standing legal principle that generally acknowledges couples married elsewhere. Attorney General Doug Gansler’s office is expected to issue an opinion in the …

Maryland is considering removing Civil War expressions like “Northern scum” from their state song. Maryland lawmakers are thinking maybe it’s time to find a way to scrub “Northern scum” — and a few other sensitive pre-Civil War phrases — from the official state song. “Maryland, My Maryland,” set to the traditional seasonal tune of “O, Tannenbaum,” was written in 1861 …

The Washington Post reveals today that the Maryland state police considered the LGBT activism group Equality Maryland to be terrorists. Equality Maryland, the state’s largest gay rights group, was among the peaceful protest groups to be classified as terrorists in a Maryland State Police database. The group was designated a “security threat” by the Homeland Security and Intelligence Division, which …

Has the Maryland state police been infiltrating political activism groups such as Equality Maryland? The American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland yesterday demanded that the state police disclose under public information laws whether 32 grass-roots advocacy and political activist groups that have held large public protests in recent years have been targets of spying by undercover agents. Yesterday’s request follows …

Thanks to a judge’s miscalculation in the number of required signatures, Lambda Legal and Equality Maryland have thwarted an attempt to roll back transgender protections via a ballot referendum in Montgomery County, Maryland. “We’re pleased with this victory. The court ruled in our favor in our challenge to this improper referendum,” said Lambda Legal attorney Natalie Chin. “Though the order …