Gay Weddings In Maryland Win Day In Court
Every morning, the soothing sounds of NPR's Morning Edition bring me back to consciousness. The content will often startle me awake or it can help me find an inspiring thought for my day.
This morning, I got a helpful dose of both.
The leading tease to the story: that a Maryland judge (Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Brooke Murdock) had issued a decision in which she rejected a gay marriage ban, which had been on the books since 1973.
Needless to say, I sat right up to listen and got inspired to listen. Real quick.
Even with this recent ruling, couples can't get marriage licenses in Maryland yet so we should all sit tight before selling our properties in the District and Virginia and making a break for it. Judge Murdock has issued a stay until a higher court has the opporutnity to affirm the decision.
It's certainly enough to get one's engine running! I can almost imagine the mass exodus of gays leaving Viriginia and heading across the river for a little legal validation. Add that to the U.S. government's recent decision to move a number of its offices out of Arlington (due to security concerns), and Northern Viriginia is going to see a big change in its population! It's not often that both the gays and the military are run out of town around the same time!
But, back to our story. If you like to listen to the story or read a summary, click here.
You can hear about the lesbian couple at the center of the court case and hear the lawyers from both sides of the movement talk about how the strategies have changed (namely: slowed for the proponenets for marriage equality) since the stunning 11-0 defeat of same sex marriage at the ballot box in 2004.
And, also worth reviewing (for those of you out there wondering when same sex marriage will be coming to a state near you!): a quick summary of events, courtesy of NPR, in 11 states -- from advances to defeats.
California
Connecticut
Iowa
Maryland
Massachusetts
New Jersey
New York
Washington State
Arizona
Indiana
Oregon
If you're interested in learning more about the legal landscape in other states and countries, I also recommend HRC's great marrieage issues summary.
So, I'm not ready to move to Maryland yet, but, I must admit, I'm more tempted than ever. Should the higher court affirm this decision my partner and I may very well sacrifce our ridiculously short commutes, dream house, and fun neighborhood in favor of a place where we can find the legal protections our life long commitment to each other deserves.
Posted by kathryn on January 20, 2006 04:50 PM
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