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| Protesters staged a rally outside the home of Virginia Del. Robert Marshall
after he authored the Marriage Affirmation Act, which says the state
of Virginia will not recognize any private contract between same-sex partners.
Many gay activists believe it is the most anti-gay law in the United States.
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HOME > NEWS > LOCAL
By: LOU CHIBBARO JR. and JOE CREA COMMENTS
 
The hot-button issue of gay marriage not only dominated national news in 2004,
but also made headlines in Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia. Here
are the top regional gay news stories of the year.
The Marriage Affirmation Act, a law that not only bans gay unions, but appears
to outlaw marriage-related legal agreements between people of the same sex,
passed the Virginia legislature by a veto-proof majority and became law July
1.
Gov. Mark Warner, a Democrat, supported the measure’s ban on recognition
of civil unions but opposed the extra restriction on contracts.
Since its creation, Del. Robert Marshall (R-Prince William County), one of
the measure’s chief proponents, has maintained that the Marriage Affirmation
Act does not ban private contracts between same-sex couples declaring that he
wrote the measure to solely prevent gay couples from marrying.
Opponents assert otherwise and less than a month after its enactment, the ACLU
of Virginia announced it would file a lawsuit challenging the measure.
The controversial measure prompted 50 demonstrators to protest outside Marshall’s
Manassas home in July.
Sensing that the Marriage Affirmation Act might be vulnerable, some conservative
Virginia lawmakers, including Del. John Cosgrove (R-Chesapeake), plan to introduce
a measure during the 2005 legislative session that would amend Virginia’s
Constitution to define marriage as the union of one man and one woman and ban
any type of same-sex union.
In early December, lawyers filed an appeal in a Virginia court on behalf of
Janet Miller-Jenkins, who is seeking to enforce a court order that would allow
her to have regular visits with the 2-year-old daughter she and her former partner
raised.
The case, being brought by Lambda Legal, the American Civil Liberties Union
of Virginia and Equality Virginia, asserts that Miller-Jenkins’ former
partner, Lisa Miller-Jenkins, must allow her to visit their daughter according
to a Vermont court order. Both women were joined in a Vermont civil union.
After the relationship ended, a Vermont court dissolved the union and granted
Janet Miller-Jenkins visitation rights to the child. Lisa Miller-Jenkins moved
back to Virginia with their daughter. She used the state’s new anti-gay
Marriage Affirmation Act to declare that she is the child’s sole legal
parent.
In September, a Vermont court found Lisa Miller-Jenkins in contempt for fleeing
the state and trying to avoid a court order for shared custody of their child.
Lisa Miller-Jenkins refused to comply with her ex-partner’s court-ordered
visitation.
In late September, Frederick, Va., County Circuit Judge John Prosser ruled
that “ex-lesbian” Lisa Miller-Jenkins should have full custody of
two-year-old daughter Isabella.
Despite the passage of bans on gay marriage in 13 other states, Maryland’s
General Assembly managed to defeat two bills in committee that would have strengthened
the state’s current ban on marriage rights for same-sex couples.
HB 728, sponsored by Del. Emmett C. Burns Jr. (D-Baltimore County) would have
prohibited Maryland from recognizing a gay marriage performed in another state
or foreign country. And HB 16, sponsored by Del. Charles R. Boutin (R-Cecil,
Harford Counties), sought to amend Maryland’s Constitution to read, “Only
a marriage between a man and a woman is valid in this state.”
Unhappy with the committee vote, Del. Gail Bates (R-Howard County) used a procedural
move to attach Boutin’s anti-gay amendment to H.B. 746, to a bill that
clarified which judges are authorized to perform marriage ceremonies and the
fees they may charge. It was voted down 82-52, with seven delegates abstaining.
Burns, a staunch opponent of gay rights, voted against the proposed amendment
noting that the committee had the final word when it voted “no”
during committee.
Plagued by criticism that he is homophobic, Burns told the Blade in February
that he is not a homophobe, adding that, “If homosexuals want to go at
it and do their thing, that’s fine. But don’t sashay your way up
to the altar and demand marriage.”
Del. Donald H. Dwyer Jr. (R-Anne Arundel) announced in late November that he
plans to introduce an amendment banning gay marriage during the 2005 legislative
session.
The gay marriage controversy moved quickly from Massachusetts to the District
of Columbia in 2004. A debate earlier in the year ...
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