POLL: African-American Marylanders Would Uphold Marriage Equality Law |
A new Public Policy Polling poll has found that 55 percent of Maryland’s African-American community would vote to maintain the state’s new marriage equality law if it’s challenged at the ballot in November. They join a 57 percent of all Maryland voters who support the law, up from 52 percent in March. An ABC/Washington Post poll yesterday found that 59 percent of African-Americans nationwide back marriage equality, a rate higher than the national average. Anti-gay groups like the National Organization for Marriage have been fervently trying to drive a wedge between blacks and gays by highlightingblackreligiousleaderswhooppose marriage equality, but the narrative they’re spinning simply doesn’t reflect reality.
MD Court: State Must Provide Divorces To Same-Sex Couples From Out Of State |
The Maryland Court of Appeals, the state’s highest court, has ruled that same-sex couples who married in other states can obtain divorces in Maryland. According to the Baltimore Sun, the unanimous ruling stemmed from a 2010 case in Prince George’s County where a judge refused to grant a divorce to a couple who had married in California, which led to an appeal. Gov. Martin O’Malley (D) signed legislation legalizing same-sex marriage in Maryland earlier this year, but opponents are seeking a November referendum to overturn it. Assuming it is not overturned, the law will only take effect in January, 2013.
Marriage Equality Could Boost Maryland’s Economy By $90 Million Per Year |
A new report from the Maryland Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce finds that Maryland’s new marriage equality law — should it survive referendum — could boost the state’s economy “by more than $90 million per year.” “Not only would the state net about $3.6 million in sales and lodging tax revenue, but over three years wedding-related businesses could see as much as $21 million per year from same-sex couples living in Maryland and another $73 million from couples traveling from out-of-state to get married,” the study concluded.
NEWS FLASH
Maryland Catholic Churches Organize To Repeal Marriage Equality Law |
The Archdiocese of Baltimore, Maryland is asking Catholic churches to read a letter asking members to take part in an effort to repeal the state’s marriage-equality law and add their names to a petition to place the referendum on the November ballot. The union of one man and one woman “has been recognized by government and religion alike because of its unique capactiy to engender life, and to establish our society’s most basic family unit of mother, father and child,” the letter says. “When Marylanders are asked to decided this issue in November, we fully expect that they they, too, will vote to uphold this unchanging truth about marriage.”
NEWS FLASH
Maryland Mormons Gathering Signatures For Marriage Equality Referendum |
Members of the Mormon church are leading efforts to place a marriage equality referendum on the ballot in Maryland, according to an e-mail obtained by the Washington Blade. The e-mail states that several Maryland churches are working to gather signatures, and that 200,000 need to be collected by May, even though just over 55,000 signatures are needed for the referendum to reach the ballot. Two members of the Mormon community in Maryland are listed as organizers in the e-mail, which calls for more people to gather signatures “within the LDS community,” referring to the church’s formal name, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. An LDS spokesman said that the church is not involved in the effort. The Mormon Church was one of the primary backers of California’s Proposition 8 amendment, which prohibited same-sex marriage in the state.
Poll: Marylanders Virtually Tied On Same-Sex Marriage |
Forty percent of Marylanders would vote to legalize same-sex marriage, while 43 percent would vote to make it illegal, a new statewide poll released today by OpinionWorks shows. The polling firm interviewed 601 randomly selected registered voters across the state of Maryland to respond to the same-sex marriage bill recently signed into law by Gov. Martin O’Malley, which may be included on the ballot this November if opponents of the law are able to collect enough signatures before deadline. Just 5 percent of respondents said they would vote on the referendum if it appeared on the ballot — although they were still undecided — while 11 percent claimed they held no opinion or were unlikely to vote on the matter. Given many of those undecided are more likely to be younger and lean Democratic, the vote could easily sway in the referendum’s favor. — Fatima Najiy
NEWS FLASH
Maryland Wedding Businesses Eager To Profit From Marriage Equality Law |
January 1, 2013, can’t come soon enough for Maryland’s florists, photographers, and wedding planners, who are eagerly anticipating the extra business marriage equality will bring them. Annapolis wedding invitation designer Allison Barnhill explained, “I know there are couples out there that have been waiting for this moment and they won’t want to wait a moment longer to have their special wedding day.” The Williams Institute estimates that in the first three years after the law takes effect, Maryland same-sex couples will generate between $40 and $64 million for the state economy, in addition to whatever revenue out-of-state couples bring.
Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley (D) told Rachel Maddow last night that while he does expect marriage equality to be challenged at the ballot, he believes voters will side with “human dignity”:
O’MALLEY: There has been a conversation that has been taking place among our elected representatives over the last year, and the fruit of that conversation was that together, we concluded, that in fact we could pass a law that protects religious freedom and the rights of individuals equally, and to do that at the same time. In the end, we concluded that human dignity —the dignity of every person, the dignity of every child’s home — was the principle where we could come together. And I think that’s what people are going to do now as they talk around their own kitchen tables, in their family living rooms, and at work. So if there’s a referendum, I believe that the people of our state will once again side on the side of human dignity.
O’Malley also said that regardless of the outcome, Maryland will continue “the march of human understanding” toward marriage equality. Watch it:
A new poll released yesterday found that 52 percent of Maryland voters would “definitely” or “probably” vote to uphold the marriage equality law.
52 Percent Of Marylanders Would Uphold Same-Sex Marriage Law | Fifty-two percent of respondents to a Maryland poll said they would “probably” or “definitely” vote in favor of the state’s recently-enacted same-sex marriage law should it appear on the ballot in November, while 44 percent of the 600 respondents said they would “probably” or “definintely” vote against it. The poll was commissioned by Marylanders for Marriage Equality and conducted by Public Policy Polling. Polls recently released by Gonzales and The Washington Post have reported the split in votes closer to 50-50. Opponents of the law are currently trying to collect the 56,000 signatures needed to put the law on the November ballot. — Fatima Najiy
Moments ago, Gov. Martin O’Malley signed legislation legalizing same-sex marriage in Maryland, making the state the eighth in the nation to offer marriage equality to gay and lesbian couples. Opponents of the measure have already filed the necessary paperwork to start collecting signatures for a referendum to overturn the law. They will have until June 30 to collect 56,000 valid signatures in order to successfully put the issue up to a referendum in November. The law is set to take effect in January of 2013, well after a referendum would take place.
As he prepared to sign the measure, flanked by supporters, O’Malley framed the issue as one of religious liberty and human dignity, saying, “for a free and diverse people, for people of many faiths, for people committed to the principal of religious freedom, the way forward is always found through grater respect for human rights of all, through human dignity for all.” “We are one Maryland and all of us at the end of the day want the same thing for our children. We want them to live in a loving, caring and committed home that is protected equally under the law.” Watch it:
Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley (D) told Rachel Maddow last night that while he does expect marriage equality to be challenged at the ballot, he believes voters will side with “human dignity”:
