Today the Maryland Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee has been hearing testimony regarding Senate Bill 449, the Fairness for All Marylanders Act, which would finally add gender identity to the state’s nondiscrimination protections. Unfortunately, the Family Research Council’s Peter Sprigg was on hand to testify his belief that transgender people have a “disconnect with reality” and need counseling, not protection under the law:

SPRIGG: A person who believes they are, or wishes to be, the opposite sex from that which is written in the chromosomes of every cell of his or her body, is suffering from a disconnection with an immutable biological reality. The solution to this problem is not actions – up to and including self-mutilating surgery amputating healthy body parts – which will reinforce this disconnect with reality. The solution is compassionate counseling aimed at helping the individual to uncover the psychological roots of their gender identity problems, and to become comfortable with one’s actual biological sex.

I understand the motivation behind this bill – the sponsors are concerned about the pain in the lives of these individuals, and hope that this intervention will ease that pain.

While I share that motivation, I must oppose this bill because it will not work. This bill would force the state and private actors – employers, landlords, and others who provide public services – to officially and legally affirm the very delusion that puts these suffering individuals at odds with reality. Not only will it not make their lives better, but it will prevent them from getting the very help they do need to make their lives better.

Sprigg is making two very offensive points here; not only is he claiming that trans people are “suffering” from a mental illness, but he’s also saying that they deserve to be discriminated against as a result. Leave aside the fact that the psychology professionals recommend affirming trans people in their gender identity, FRC wants it to be legal to fire, deny housing, and deny basic services to transgender people, who are already quite vulnerable to such discrimination. Sprigg has previously called for criminal sanctions against homosexuality and the exportation of gays and lesbians. It’s such campaigns against basic humanity that warrant FRC’s designation as a “hate group.” (HT: Joe.My.God.)

Maryland De. Emmett Burns (D)

Last September, Maryland Del. Emmett Burns (D) wrote a letter to Baltimore Ravens owner Steven Disciotti demanding he silence linebacker Brendon Ayanbadejo from speaking out for marriage equality. (That letter prompted Minnesota Viking Chris Kluwe’s infamous response that gay people “won’t magically turn you into a lustful cockmonster.”) A few days later, Burns admitted that Ayanbadejo “has his First Amendment rights.” Now, a Maryland legislative ethics committee has found that his use of government stationary was “an abuse of public resources“:

Your use of official General Assembly letterhead to pressure the employer of a citizen of Maryland to suppress the citizen’s right of free speech was a particularly egregious abuse of public resources.

The committee recommended no disciplinary action, however, telling Burns “you have recognized the error of your violation and have publicly apologized.” It’s unclear that he actually ever apologized, though. Despite having admitted Ayanbadejo has First Amendment rights, Burns still feels that “professional football is not the place to be pushing gay rights.” Given Burns’ vociferous opposition to LGBT equality, he likely doesn’t believe that any such “place to be pushing gay rights” exists at all.

Over the past week, same-sex couples in Maryland and Maine were able to start wedding as voter-approved laws in both states took effect. Celebrations began in Maine on Saturday and in Maryland New Year’s Day. Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake officiated one of the first ceremonies just after midnight, calling the passed referendum “a remarkable achievement” for Maryland. Nine states and the District of Columbia now have full marriage equality.

Not all couples are rushing to get married, however. The Portland Press Herald notes that like opposite-sex couples, many same-sex couples are planning weddings where they can include their friends and family. One Maryland couple is even planning to invite strangers from Reddit to their April ceremony. Still, support was strong for couples who have already been waiting years to obtain legal recognition for their relationship, including a crowd singing “All You Need Is Love” outside the Portland City Hall and cheering on newlyweds early Saturday morning after midnight. This included Steven Bridges and Michael Snell, who were the first Maine couple to be married. Watch clips of their ceremony and the supportive crowd outside:

When the clock strikes midnight tonight, it will mark more than simply the start of a new year for some couples in Maryland — it’s also when Maryland’s new marriage equality law officially takes effect. Some same-sex weddings are already planned for the first moments of 2013.

Since New Year’s Day is a government holiday, courthouses across Maryland are closed. But that didn’t stop Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake (D) from taking steps to ensure that same-sex couples won’t have to wait any longer for marriage equality. Rawlings-Blake will open Baltimore’s city hall tonight to allow at least seven same-sex couples to get married, and the mayor plans to serve as an official witness for the wedding ceremonies:

“New Years Day will have a new meaning for the hundreds — if not thousands — of couples who will finally have the right to marry the person they love,” said Mayor Rawlings-Blake.

“It is a remarkable achievement for Maryland, and we are excited to open City Hall to host some of the first wedding ceremonies in our great state. Newly married couples will stand before their friends and family to profess their love and commitment to each other. This is what we worked for, and I am looking forward to take part in this historic and jubilant day.”

The first couple to be married at City Hall will be a longtime aide to the mayor and his partner of 35 years. And even though the courthouses in other Maryland cities may not be open, the early marriage licenses that some same-sex couples in the state were able to begin applying for in December will become official at midnight tonight.

After sweeping LGBT victories in November expanded marriage equality across several states, same-sex couples also began getting married in Washington earlier this month and in Maine earlier this week.

One of Grubbs' wedding trolleys. (Photo credit: Larson Photography.)

Distribution of same-sex marriage licenses just began in Maryland today, and already a Christian-owned business is complaining that it won’t be free to deny business to same-sex couples. Matt Grubbs runs Discover Annapolis Tours, which until now provided trolley cars to transport wedding parties and guests from churches to receptions. Because he refuses to provide this service for same-sex couples and their families, his lawyer has advised him to abandon this wedding service entirely, which will cost him $50,000 a year in revenue. Grubbs believes the government should grant him an exemption to discriminate:

GRUBBS: The law exempts my minister from doing same-sex weddings, and the Knights of Columbus don’t have to rent out their hall for a gay wedding reception, but somehow my religious convictions don’t count for anything. [...]

We’re a Christian-owned company, and we just can’t support gay marriages. We’re not trying to make a statement. We’re not trying to make a point. We’re just trying to be faithful Christians.

Of course, the National Organization for Marriage was quick to claim that it had foreseen this “consequence” of marriage equality:

The ballot shown to Maryland voters used 25 words to described the redefinition of marriage but over 70 words claiming false religious exemptions for people and institutions who disagree with redefined marriage.

Sure enough, as we warned, citizens in Maryland who disagree with redefined marriage are now being forced out of the public square and are NOT protected under the redefining marriage law passed in Maryland.

There was nothing “false” about the exemptions for religious leaders and institutions, but as Jeremy Hooper points out, the law never promised a right for bus vendors to discriminate. In fact, if a same-sex couple decided to have a non-legal commitment ceremony before the marriage equality bill passed, it would have been just as illegal for Grubbs to deny them service then as it is now. Maryland law says that it’s illegal to for businesses to discriminate against customers on the basis of sexual orientation, and the legality of marriage doesn’t change that.

Women were once prohibited from owning property. People of color were once denied use of the same facilities and services as white people. Now anti-gay Christians, led by NOM, are trying to use their faith to justify blatant discrimination against same-sex couples. If the discrimination is more important than the revenue to Grubbs, that is his choice, but it does not make him a victim.

Tomorrow, four states will have the opportunity to weigh in on the question of marriage equality, three of which will have the opportunity to embrace the freedom for the very first time. All four campaigns have had fierce efforts both for and against, with millions of dollars spent on ads. As election day approaches, here is a final look at what the campaigns have been saying to the public in Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, and Washington.

Opponents of marriage equality have run fairly uniform ads across four states, largely because the National Organization for Marriage has been the primary source of funding in every one of those campaigns. Most of these ads have relied on misleading claims that individuals who would prefer to discriminate against same-sex couples as victims. Others rely on the false threat that schools will suddenly teach young children about sexuality. One of NOM’s final ads compiles all of these lies into one clip that attempts to scare voters about the “broken promises” of marriage equality. Despite these very negative scare tactics, NOM’s last ad paints opposing equality under the veneer of love and respect for gay people. Watch the Minnesota version of this underhanded ad:

Meanwhile, the state campaigns for equality have actually run very independent campaigns, featuring individuals who live in the state rather than imported scare tactics:
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