May 27, 2005  |  By: ELIZABETH WEILL-GREENBERG  | COMMENTS     

Gay rights advocates said this week that the fight for medical decision making rights for same-sex couples is not over in Maryland, despite a gubernatorial veto last week of a bill that would have granted such rights to gay and straight couples alike.

Meanwhile, Gov. Robert Ehrlich indicated that he and fellow Republican lawmakers might introduce their own version of the bill next year.

Ehrlich last Friday vetoed two pro-gay bills passed by the General Assembly and indicated that he intends to sign two other measures pushed by gay advocates.

In addition to the Medical Decision Making Act, Ehrlich also vetoed the Transfer & Recordation Tax Exemption Act, a bill that would have exempted gay couples from the taxes involved in transferring the title of a home. He said he will sign the Hate Crimes Penalties Act, which adds sexual orientation and gender identity to Maryland’s hate crimes law and the Safe Schools Reporting Act, which requires schools to report incidents of anti-gay bullying.

But his decision on the medical bill, which would have given registered domestic partners hospital visitation and medical decision making rights, has garnered the most disappointment among gay activists, who said they intend to pursue an override of Ehrlich’s veto.

“We have to get our ducks in a row to make sure we have the votes and the will by leadership for override,” said Dan Furmansky, executive director of Equality Maryland, a statewide gay rights group.

Activists said Maryland Del. trong>Donald H. Dwyer’s (R-Anne Arundel) efforts to thwart the Medical Decision Making Act through a voter referendum in 2006 would be a crucial factor in the success or failure of an override attempt.

The Medical Decision Making Act passed the Senate 31-16, a veto-proof majority; the House vote was two votes shy at 83-50. Furmansky said Del. Donald H. Dwyer’s (R-Anne Arundel) efforts to thwart the act through a voter referendum in 2006 would be a crucial factor in the success or failure of an override. Calls to Dwyer’s office were not returned.

“The Democratic leadership will not allow the veto to be overridden if it’s going to be on the ballot,” Furmansky said. “They don’t want something on the ballot that will draw out conservative voters.”

Signature collecting efforts to repeal the medical act will continue despite the veto, said Pastor Rick Bowers, chair of Defend Maryland Marriage. But their efforts will now focus more on putting the Hate Crimes Penalty Act and Safe Schools Act to a referendum, he said.

“We don’t look at this as a complete victory,” Bowers said. “It’s a stepping stone.”

Senate President Pro Tem Ida Ruben ( D-Montgomery County) said she would work to override the governor’s veto. Politics, she admitted, would play a part in the override’s future, which will depend largely on “how threatening it is to someone’s reelection.”

Ehrlich has said he wants to craft new legislation to encompass some of the medical act’s benefits. In Ehrlich’s letter explaining his veto, he wrote, “[A] central registry of advance directives and related legal documents, maintained by the Department of Health & Mental Hygiene and accessible to health care providers with proper identity protections for individuals and couples, I believe, would better address the problems [the MDMA] seeks to resolve.”

‘We have to get our ducks in a row to make sure we have the votes and the will by leadership for override,’ said trong>Dan Furmansky, executive director of Equality Maryland, about the vetoed Medical Decision Making Act.

Gay Del. Rich Madaleno (D-Kensington) said Ehrlich’s staff told him the governor was “sympathetic to the issue and will be looking to develop legislation of his own for next year” but provided no details. In an interview on Baltimore’s WBAL Radio, Ehrlich said, “We may very well put in our own bill next year.”

“Our next step is to listen to what the governor has to say and wait for what the courts have to say,” said Madaleno.

Furmansky called the governor’s comments “disingenuous.” On several occasions, Equality Maryland solicited the governor’s feedback on the bill and Ehrlich’s staff never expressed any concerns, he said. Since Ehrlich took office he has not met with Equality Maryland, despite repeated requests, Furmansky said.

The governor’s office has been vague about how a new medical bill would be crafted or what it might entail. Ehrlich spokesperson Henry Fawell said that ensuring couples “have access to health-related decisions is ...