Apr 25, 2008  |  By: KEVIN NAFF  | COMMENTS     

AFTER LAST YEAR’S high court ruling upholding straight-only marriage in Maryland, many residents of the state — including me — had high hopes for the 2008 legislative session.

Surely, many of us thought, the state’s Democratic lawmakers would right the judicial wrong inflicted by the slimmest of majorities, 4-3. But instead of courageous leadership on a pressing civil rights issue, the state’s politicians quickly reverted to type, abandoning progress and embracing the safe confines of the status quo.

No marriage. No civil unions. Not even domestic partnerships for gays living in a so-called “blue state” where Democrats enjoy monopolistic control of both houses in the legislature and the governor’s mansion.

There is plenty of blame to go around for the failure of Maryland’s lawmakers to enact relationship recognition for same-sex couples.

First, Gov. Martin O’Malley failed to provide leadership or a voice for equality despite his past support for same-sex marriage while serving as Baltimore mayor. In fact, O’Malley used the bully pulpit of his office back in September to say he respected the court’s decision — an opinion peppered with harsh anti-gay language — and to assert that lawmakers shouldn’t tell religions how to define the “sacraments.”

In the ensuing outcry from plaintiffs in the case, including several who spent their summer vacations knocking on doors to get O’Malley elected, he retreated from his obvious pandering to religious conservatives, and told the Blade he would consider signing a marriage bill if the legislature passed it, though he prefers civil unions.
But that’s where his support ended. Not all of Maryland’s politicians are so cowed by anti-gay conservatives. Attorney General Douglas Gansler did what O’Malley lacked the courage to do and publicly endorsed marriage rights for gay couples.
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Speaking before a Senate committee considering marriage-related bills that ultimately died, Gansler described same-sex marriage as inevitable.

THE SECOND OBSTACLE to progress: the Democratic leaders in the General Assembly, Senate President Mike Miller and House Speaker Michael Busch. Both are opposed to same-sex marriage; Miller opposes civil unions, too. Throughout the session, Miller refused to speak to Blade reporters about his stance.

Sen. Rich Madaleno, who is gay, cited Miller’s religious beliefs in explaining his opposition to marriage.

“He’s on that same journey of knowing more people in his life who are open and seeing the day-to-day issues that we face, and at the same time trying to balance that with his long-held religious beliefs and just personal feelings on the issue,” Madaleno said.

But like O’Malley before him, Miller misses the point. This debate has nothing to do with religion — the Maryland marriage bill was deliberately named the “Religious Freedom & Civil Marriage Protection Act” to quell fears about sinful gays marching into holy places and demanding equal treatment and respect.

It’s time that the loud cries for change that we’ve heard during the presidential race trickled down to the state level. Miller has served in the General Assembly for 30 years — more than 20 of those years as Senate president. He is out of touch with Marylanders, nearly 60 percent of whom favor civil unions legislation, according to a recent Washington Post poll. Perhaps the time and money of gay rights activists in the state would be better spent prying people like Miller and Busch out of office. It’s clear that meaningful and substantive pro-gay advances won’t come as long as they remain entrenched in Annapolis.

And they’re not the only Democrats who ought to be sent packing. State Sen. Anthony Muse (D-Prince George’s County) shares the blame for the derailed efforts in Maryland. Muse, a member of the Judicial Proceedings Committee, is founder and senior pastor of Ark of Safety Christian Church in Upper Marlboro. That’s right, another anti-gay black pastor who thinks that enforcing his interpretation of Christianity is part of his government job.

“Unequivocally I stand for Christian marriage,” he said. “What I am for is trying to find a way to make sure every citizen is protected under the law, regardless of their lifestyles.”
Talk about out of touch, Muse is still using the tired and offensive “lifestyles” language
in referring to gays. In sharp contrast to Muse and his discriminatory views, Sen. Gwendolyn Britt, a fellow P.G. County Democrat and prominent figure in the civil rights movement, embraced the fight for same-sex marriage until her death in January.

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