Maryland Senate Committee Approves Same-Sex Marriage Bill Back
The Wire
By ksteiger@americanprogress.org, CampusProgress.org
The state senate approved Maryland’s Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Protection Act on today in a 7-4 vote. The bill, which would grant same-sex couples legal marriage rights in Maryland while allowing religious institutions to determine their own policies, will now progress to a State Senate floor vote.
Maryland’s civil marriage bill was written by state Sen. Rich Madaleno (D-District 18), the only out gay member of Maryland’s Senate, and state Sen. Jamie Raskin (D-District 20). In a state senate floor vote, the bill will need 24 votes to pass. So far, 23 state senators have already pledged their vote. That leaves three senators, all Democrats, who haven’t committed either way. State Sen. Joan Carter Conway (D- District 43), while releasing no official statement, is said to have pledged to her constituents to be the 24th vote if the legislation receives 23 votes.
These exciting developments in Maryland hopefully precede similar movement of civil marriage bills in New Hampshire, Colorado, Hawaii, New York, and other states.
While they’re not getting as much press attention, most states with proposed marriage equality bills also have proposed anti-discriminationlegislation, which differ by state but typically make employment and/or housing discrimination on the grounds of gender expression or sexuality illegal.
