Maryland: Take the Step to Recognize Legal Gay Marriages

by Michael Jones · 2009-12-17 13:59:00 UTC
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Wedding RingsWith Washington, D.C. moving forward to recognize same-sex marriage, a lot of eyes are starting to wander over to its neighbor to the north, Maryland. There, the state's attorney general has a pretty big decision to make that could affect a whole bunch of same-sex couples.

Attorney General Douglas Gansler has to decide whether Maryland can recognize legal gay marriages that are performed out of state. Or, in other words, will two men or two women who tie the knot in D.C. still be legally married when they go shop for furniture at the IKEA in College Park, Maryland?

Earlier this year, we put up a petition here on change.org urging Atty. General Gansler to allow Maryland to recognize out of state gay marriages. So far more than 600 people have signed that petition. But pressure still needs to be put on Atty. Gen. Gansler, who has yet to rule on this issue. It's a question of basic fairness for couples. So why is Atty. Gen. Gansler delaying?

The Baltimore Sun has some very curt words for Atty. Gen. Gansler, urging Gansler to move his ass on the issue of marriage equality.

"...the issue of gay marriage is now at Maryland's doorstep, and it increases the urgency for Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler to rule on whether the state is permitted to recognize same-sex marriages from other states," writes Sun blogger Andy Green. "It's hard to conceive of what, exactly, is taking Mr. Gansler so long."

That's a very good question. Sure, when it comes to state law, you want to make sure you have your i's dotted and your t's crossed. But a six-month delay in answering whether legal gay marriages committed in places like Massachusetts, Iowa, and soon-to-be D.C., are legal? Well, I don't know about you, but if I had a lawyer that took six months to answer one question, it might be time to put on a little extra pressure.

(Photo courtesy of apdk's photostream on Flickr.)

Michael Jones is a Change.org Editor. He has worked in the field of human rights communications for a decade, most recently for Harvard Law School.
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