The
Baltimore
Circuit
Court
is
scheduled
to
hear
oral
arguments
July
27
in
a
Maryland
lawsuit
seeking
to
legalize
same-sex
marriage.
The
suit,
Deane
and
Polyak
vs.
Conaway,
was
filed
in
July
2004
by
the
American
Civil
Liberties
Union
on
behalf
of
nine
same-sex
couples
and
a
gay
man
whose
partner
died.
It
is
challenging
the
constitutionality
of
a
1973
provision
that
limits
marriage
to
a
man
and
a
woman,
according
to
David
Rocah,
an
attorney
with
the
ACLU
working
on
the
case.
New
Jersey,
California,
New
York
and
Washington
also
have
pending
same-sex
marriage
cases,
according
to
the
gay
rights
group
Lambda
Legal.
Massachusetts
is
the
only
state
to
recognize
same-sex
marriage.
“Gay
and
lesbian
families
are
not
being
treated
equally,”
Rocah
said.
“We
believe
that
the
fundamental
right
at
issue
is
the
right
to
marry
and
it
is
being
arbitrarily
denied
to
gay
and
lesbian
families.”
Because
of
Maryland’s
progressive
legal
history,
he
said,
it
is
an
“appropriate
place
to
be
pursuing
the
road
to
equality
through
the
judiciary.”
Maryland
courts
have
a
tradition
of
not
discriminating
based
on
sexual
orientation
in
custody
cases
and
of
approving
second
parent
adoptions
for
same-sex
families,
Rocah
said.
Even
though
it
is
still
early
in
the
Maryland
case,
several
local
organizations,
including
the
Maryland
chapter
of
the
National
Organization
for
Women
and
the
National
Lawyers
Guild-Maryland,
have
authored
amicus
briefs
in
support
of
the
couples.
The
couples
have
scheduled
a
news
conference
the
day
before
the
hearing
to
announce
which
religious
organizations
have
signed
on
to
support
their
case.
Rev.
Andrew
Foster
Connors
of
the
Brown
Memorial
Park
Avenue
Presbyterian
Church
in
Baltimore,
said
it
is
especially
important
for
the
Christian
community
to
speak
out
in
support
of
same-sex
marriage.
“The
voices
of
opposition
that
have
been
the
loudest
have
come
from
the
religious
community
—
the
right
wing
part
of
the
Christian
faith,”
he
said.
“Not
all
Christians
speak
with
that
kind
of
voice.”
Rick
Bowers,
chair
of
Defend
Maryland
Marriage,
which
has
worked
to
stop
the
recognition
of
gay
marriage
in
Maryland,
said
he
is
concerned
that
Maryland
judges
may
“jump
on
the
bandwagon”
and
legislate
from
the
bench.
“I
think
any
decision
that
would
tear
at
the
fabric
of
family
should
be
looked
at
closely,”
he
said.
But
the
couples
in
the
lawsuit
said
that
allowing
them
to
marry
would
only
strengthen
and
protect
their
families.
Jodi
Kelber-Kaye
and
Stacey
Kargman-Kaye
felt
it
was
important
to
join
the
suit
because
of
their
vulnerability
during
medical
emergencies.
“To
have
this
question
—
it
adds
another
layer
of
hysteria
that’s
not
needed,”
Kelber-Kaye
said.
When
their
younger
son
was
born
prematurely
and
Kelber-Kaye,
the
birth
mother,
was
unable
to
make
decisions,
the
nurses
didn’t
recognize
Kargman-Kaye
as
a
co-parent.
The
nurses
finally
listened
to
her
when
the
midwife
came
in
to
explain
who
Kargman-Kaye
was.
“We’re
at
the
mercy
of
nice
nurses,”
Kargman-Kaye
said,
adding
she
hopes
her
involvement
in
the
suit
will
leave
a
legacy
for
her
children.
Elizabeth
Weill-Greenberg
can
be
reached
at
eweill-greenberg@washblade.com.
