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To the Editors: Re: “O’Malley is a friend to Maryland gays” (letter to the editor, Sept. 28)
I read with interest the letter from Kensington Mayor Peter Fosselman. While Fosselman may have a fine personal relationship with Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley, that has no bearing on the facts of this particular matter.
O’Malley promised to support civil marriage in at least three separate settings. First, he made the promise in a room full of community representatives at the Mayor’s GLBT Task Force meeting on Oct. 14, 2004. Second, he stated his support for same-sex marriage in an on-camera interview for WJZ TV on Oct. 20, 2004. And third, he wrote private e-mails to me on Oct. 22, 2004, and Aug. 31, 2005, in which he stated and then re-affirmed his support for civil marriage.
There are multiple references and incontrovertible evidence of all three events. There was no misinformation.
Since that time, he has gone out of his way to incrementally distance himself from the gay community, culminating in that hideous reaction quote on the day of the Court of Appeals decision. Do you really think he believes the litigation was an attempt to force religious leaders to marry gay people? If so, he must not have read the governor’s handbook on the limits of civil power.
As far as his support for civil unions goes — if he is such a big supporter of equal rights for all citizens, I would think he would be first in line to sponsor a civil unions bill, since he must surely be feeling our pain. Perhaps Fosselman could bring this up to O’Malley during their next chat.
I believe that public officials should be held accountable for the promises they make. The facts identified in the Blade articles on the marriage ruling are true — I can vouch for them because they happened to me and my family.
Baltimore
Editors’ note: The writer and her partner, Gita Deane, were lead plaintiffs in the Maryland marriage case.
To the Editors: Re: “Heartbroken couples vow to fight on” (news, Sept. 21)
The ruling by Maryland’s highest court to uphold a state ban on gay marriage is the progeny of the repudiated Plessy v. Ferguson principle that separate is equal.
The court’s rationale is a vain attempt to justify an injustice. To say that no rights are violated and no bias exists amounts to a vapid rationalization fueled by ignorance and unfounded fear.
The problem is that the court did not approach this case from its fundamental premise — this is about a natural right, not a civil right. The right to marry cannot be granted or taken away by any legitimate government. At most, a government can recognize this fundamental human right by law, which is what the court should have done.
Annandale, Va.
To the Editors: Re: “Activists targeting anti-gay senators in ’08 races” (news, Sept. 28)
Regarding the open U.S. Senate seat in Virginia, Mark Warner entering the 2008 race is very encouraging for all Virginia citizens.
The GLBT community has a friend in Warner and he has demonstrated his support for our issues. As a candidate, he attended a Virginia Partisans cookout and spent more than an hour chatting over issues that concerned the gay community at the time. On the eve of his inauguration, Warner and his chief of staff Bill Leighty met with many of us to discuss our issues once again.
Within six months, Gov. Warner hosted about 20 of us in his official conference room where each of us was given the opportunity to talk about our personal concerns. Warner told us at that meeting that “this was an historic meeting — it is the first time a sitting governor has ever met with representatives of the gay community.”
Warner campaigned against the Marshall-Newman amendment last year and he attended the Virginia Partisans Fall Fundraiser in August of 2006. We are better with Mark Warner as our next senator in Virginia because he is a man of compassion. Democrats are more likely to support our issues and Mark Warner is a Democrat with proven Democratic values.
Arlington, Va.
Editors’ note: The writer is president of Virginia Partisans Gay & Lesbian Democratic Club.
To the Editors: Re: “Respecting gays in Español” (Out in DC, Sept. 21)
Thank you for printing the article about the ...
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