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
over
whether
D.C.
should
recognize
same-sex
marriages
performed
in
Massachusetts
was
overshadowed
in
the
summer,
when
Congresswoman
Jo
Ann
Davis
(R-Va.)
introduced
a
bill
to
ban
same-sex
marriage
in
the
District.
Gay
activists
became
further
concerned
in
November
when
D.C.
resident
Lisa
L.
Greene
filed
papers
with
the
city
election
board
to
place
a
gay
marriage
ban
before
the
voters
through
a
ballot
initiative.
Davis
later
agreed
to
a
request
by
D.C.
Congressional
Delegate
Eleanor
Holmes
Norton
(D-D.C.)
to
hold
off
on
pushing
her
bill.
And
Greene
withdrew
her
initiative
proposal
after
the
...
