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| Kweisi Mfume, a U.S. Senate candidate from Maryland, announced that he supports full marriage rights for gay couples following a decision in Baltimore Circuit Court that the state’s heterosexuals-only marriage law is unconstitutional. (Photo by AP) |
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Graham calls on mayor
to release marriage memo
D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams should release his attorney general’s opinion about whether the District should recognize out-of-state marriages between same sex couples, in light of last week’s Maryland court decision backing same-sex marriage rights, according to gay D.C. Councilmember Jim Graham (D-Ward 1).
"The decision in Maryland really brings to mind the need for D.C. to issue an opinion on out-of-state same-sex marriages," Graham said. "Same-sex marriage in Maryland-—-is that valid or not in D.C.?"
A spokesperson for the mayor said she didn’t know when the memo would be made public. It’s at the mayor’s discretion because the memo is subject to attorney-client confidentiality, she said.
Activists have speculated that the memo says gay marriages performed elsewhere should be recognized under D.C. law.
Last year, D.C. Attorney General Robert Spagnoletti, who is gay, said that gay married couples from Massachusetts could file joint tax returns in D.C.
D.C. Attorney General spokesperson Traci Hughes said that D.C. would follow federal law when it comes to recognizing same-sex marriages performed in other states. The Defense of Marriage Act defines marriage as between a man and a woman for federal purposes and allows states to refuse or recognize marriages performed elsewhere. A married gay couple from Maryland would have to register with the District’s new domestic partnership program to receive the program’s benefits, she said.
MORE INFO
Kweisi Mfume
P.O. Box 1557
Baltimore, MD 21203-1557
410-468-3338
www.mfumeforsenate.com
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HOME > NEWS > LOCAL
By: ELIZABETH WEILL-GREENBERG COMMENTS
 
Less than a month into the 2006 election year, Maryland politicians are being forced to clarify their views on same-sex marriage following a Baltimore Circuit Court judge’s ruling last week that Maryland’s heterosexuals-only marriage law is unconstitutional.
So far, the statements from area politicians running for U.S. Senate and Maryland governor range from vague to opposed to unequivocal support for the ruling.
Kweisi Mfume, who is running for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by the retiring Paul Sarbanes, said this week that he supports equal marriage rights for gays couples-—-the only leading candidate to do so.
"As someone who was raised to believe in traditional marriage, it does not mean others cannot have different beliefs," the longtime civil rights activist said in a telephone interview. "I recognize [civil union] laws don’t cover all the benefits and all the rights that could and should be accrued to same-sex couples."
Mfume, a former congressman and past president of the NAACP, has supported civil unions and opposed efforts to amend the U.S. Constitution to ban equal marriage rights for gays.
In September, a spokesperson from Mfume’s office was unsure of his exact position on same-sex marriage rights. At the time, an official with Equality Maryland said the group had met with Mfume and that he was "forming an opinion on equal marriage and civil unions. … He’s willing to listen. He asked a lot of questions."
Same-sex marriage is a difficult religious and philosophical issue, Mfume told the Blade this week. However, governments must respect equal protection for all people regardless of race, gender or sexual orientation, he said.
"Are we prepared to give that equal protection to all people?" he asked. "I don’t know how the courts could have come up with any decision than what they did."
Dan Furmansky, executive director of Equality Maryland, said Mfume was a "real hero." Mfume will be the keynote speaker at Equality Maryland’s lobby day on Feb. 13.
"I’m frankly thrilled," said gay rights activist and Maryland resident Julie Enszer.
Last year, Enszer wrote an opinion column in the Washington Blade explaining that she could not vote for Mfume unless he endorsed equal marriage rights. This week, after learning of his support for same-sex marriage, she said, "I’m sending my check."
Tradition can’t mask prejudice, says judge
The lawsuit, Deane vs. Conaway, was filed in July 2004 by the American Civil Liberties Union and Equality Maryland. Nine gay Maryland couples and one man whose partner died joined the case.
A Baltimore Circuit Court judge ruled that a 1973 state law limiting marriage to a man and woman is unconstitutional. The Jan. 20 decision will not take effect until the appeals process is exhausted.
"After much study and serious reflection, this court holds that Maryland’s statutory prohibition against same-sex marriage cannot withstand this constitutional challenge," Judge Brooke M. Murdock ruled.
The court also found no "sufficient differences" between the gay marriage case and the landmark Loving vs. Virginia suit, which challenged Virginia’s ban on interracial marriage. The U.S. Supreme Court overturned the prohibition against interracial marriage in 1967.
Murdock’s ruling rejects justifications offered by the state to support the law banning same-sex couples from marrying, and concluded the ban was motivated by bias.
Maryland Senate President Pro Tem Ida G. Ruben (D-Montgomery County) welcomed the court’s ruling.
"I think it was the appropriate decision," she told the Blade. "I think the judge set forth equal rights, and in this country we have equal rights."
Politicians weigh in
Maryland Congressman Ben Cardin, another Democratic candidate for Senate, told the Blade last fall that he supports civil unions but would not state his position on gay marriage. After the ruling, he reaffirmed his opposition to a constitutional amendment defining marriage.
"[W]hile he will continue to work to ensure that all committed couples enjoy the same legal opportunities, he believes that marriage is between a man and a woman," Cardin spokesperson Oren Shur said in a statement.
Lt. Gov. Michael Steele, the leading Republican candidate for U.S. Senate from Maryland, opposes gay marriage but believes people who live together should be able to make medical decisions for one another, according to Steele spokesperson Bryan Johnston.
Steele attended a Defend Maryland Marriage rally last year that called for a state constitutional ban on gay marriage.
Steele’s challenger, Republican Daniel "Wig Man" Vovak said the government "should not be involved in marriages at all-—-for anyone."
Appeal, amendment already in works
Republican ...
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