Maryland
gay
rights
advocates
were
buoyed
this
week
by
a
series
of
legislative
victories
that
saw
a
medical
decision
making
rights
bill,
a
hate
crimes
measure
and
a
bill
to
end
title
transfer
fees
for
gay
couples
all
advance
in
the
General
Assembly.
With
a
vote
of
31-16,
the
Maryland
Senate
passed
a
bill
that
would
allow
unmarried
couples
to
be
treated
as
immediate
family
during
hospital
visitation
and
to
make
medical
decisions
for
each
other.
The
bill
now
goes
to
the
House
of
Delegates,
which
easily
passed
a
similar
bill
in
2004.
Sponsored
by
Sen.
Joan
Carter
Conway
(D-Baltimore),
the
Medical
Decision
Making
Act
of
2005
(SB
796)
would
create
Maryland’s
first
statewide
registry
of
life
partners.
Republican
Gov.
Robert
L.
Ehrlich
Jr.
has
not
taken
a
position
on
the
measure.
“Generally
speaking
the
governor
likes
to
keep
an
open
mind
on
these
types
of
things
and
to
consider
what
is
best
for
the
patients,”
Paul
Schurick,
a
spokesperson
for
the
governor,
told
the
Blade
this
week.
But,
the
official
added,
because
the
language
in
the
bill
could
change
before
it
reaches
the
governor’s
desk,
Ehrlich
prefers
not
to
comment
on
the
bill
in
any
greater
detail.
If
the
measure
passes,
gay
or
heterosexual
couples
who
live
together,
are
18
or
older
and
are
mutually
interdependent
could
choose
to
register
their
relationship
with
the
Secretary
of
Health
&
Mental
Hygiene.
According
to
Equality
Maryland,
a
statewide
gay
rights
group
that
lobbied
for
the
legislation,
registered
couples
would
be
entitled
to
11
rights,
including
at
least
seven
that
cannot
be
achieved
through
power
of
attorney,
advance
directive
or
will.
These
rights
include
the
right
to
visit
a
partner
in
a
hospital
or
nursing
home,
the
right
to
share
a
room
with
a
partner
in
a
nursing
home
and
to
be
present
when
a
partner
is
transferred
from
one
health
care
facility
to
another
and
the
right
to
receive
and
dispose
of
a
partner’s
remains.
The
bill
also
gives
a
partner
the
right
to
go
to
court
and
seek
a
remedy
when
there
is
a
conflict
over
the
medical
treatment
of
an
incapacitated
partner.
In
the
absence
of
written
instructions,
a
life
partner
will
have
the
right
to
make
health
care
decisions
for
an
incapacitated
domestic
partner
and
the
right
to
make
organ
and
tissue
donations
of
a
diseased
partner.
The
Medical
Decision
Making
act
is
modeled
on
programs
in
place
in
California,
New
Jersey,
Maine
and
Hawaii.
Although
the
bill
creating
a
life
partner
registry
would
provide
rights
traditionally
associated
with
marriage,
the
measure
specifically
states
that
the
establishment
of
a
life
partnership
registry
“may
not
be
construed
to
recognize,
condone,
or
prohibit
domestic
partnership,
civil
union
or
marriage
between
two
individuals
of
the
same
sex
entered
into
in
another
state
or
jurisdiction.”
The
Maryland
Catholic
Conference
has
actively
opposed
the
creation
of
a
life
partner
registry.
The
Web
site
for
the
Catholic
Conference
features
an
action
alert
form
and
encourages
visitors
to
protest
the
plan
to
give
rights
to
unmarried
couples.
The
conference
argues
that
young
adults
who
don’t
know
each
other
well
could
become
life
partners
and
then
be
responsible
for
life
and
death
decisions
for
which
they
are
not
prepared.
According
to
Equality
Maryland,
the
criteria
to
become
life
partners
are
stricter
than
those
required
for
a
marriage
license
in
Maryland.
Dan
Furmansky,
executive
director
of
Equality
Maryland,
said
that
he
expects
the
Medical
Decision
Making
Act
to
pass
into
law
and
that
he
believes
a
life
partner
registry
could
be
functioning
by
October
of
this
year.
The
Hate
Crimes
Penalty
Act,
HB
692,
which
includes
gender
identity
and
sexual
orientation
as
protected
categories,
was
introduced
by
Delegate
Adrienne
Jones
(D-Baltimore
County)
and
passed
the
House
of
Delegates
by
a
vote
of
93-42.
“Enacting
the
Hate
Crimes
Penalties
Act
into
law
is
a
very
important
step
in
improving
the
daily
lives
of
those
who
are
at
risk
for
hate
violence,”
Equality
Maryland
board
member
Dr.
Dana
Beyer
said
in
a
written
statement.
“This
will
have
a
profound
ripple
effect,
educating
Maryland’s
population
about
who
we
are,
and
specifically
helping
to
make
the
legal
and
law
enforcement
communities
cognizant
of
the
special
risks
we
face
every
day.”
If
the
Senate
passes
the
legislation
and
the
Hate
Crimes
Penalty
Act
becomes
law,
Maryland
will
join
29
other
states
that
have
added
sexual
orientation
to
their
hate
crimes
laws
and
eight
other
states
and
the
District
of
Columbia,
which
also
include
trans
people
in
their
hate
crimes
laws.
“We
have
been
working
on
the
hate
crimes
bill
for
years
now,”
Furmansky
said.
He
credited
the
compelling
personal
testimony
by
victims
of
hate
violence
with
convincing
delegates
to
move
the
legislation
forward.
In
a
related
move,
the
Maryland
House
of
Delegates
approved
a
bill
that
would
eliminate
the
transfer
and
recordation
fee
when
a
domestic
partner
is
added
to
the
deed
of
a
home
owned
by
a
partner.
Married
couples
are
already
exempt
from
this
transfer
tax.
The
bill
was
sponsored
by
Delegate
Anne
R.
Kaiser
(D-Montgomery
County)
and
is
modeled
on
a
law
that
has
been
in
place
in
Montgomery
County
since
2002.
The
legislation
passed
the
House
99-33.
It
now
moves
to
the
Senate
for
consideration.
