Gov. Chris Gregoire

by Jeremy Leaming

Inching closer to ending one of the nation’s inequalities, Maryland, as its governor had promised to do, enacted marriage equality legislation earlier this evening, joining seven states and the District of Columbia, though the progress comes with the reality that forces are seeking to scuttle it.

Andrew Sullivan in a “42 to Go,” blog post notes reader comment and media coverage on the latest victory for equality, while noting that in New Jersey, Gov. Chris Christie’s punting of civil rights to the whims of the majority in a referendum this fall, may, at the end of the day, provide some sense of success to what otherwise were shrewd, yet likely crass political tactics, though maybe not by Sullivan. “If marriage equality wins,” he wrote, Christie “can say democracy worked, while touting his veto to the fundamentalist base ….”

Democratic Gov. Martin O’Malley (pictured) in signing the Civil Marriage Protection Act of 2012 into law, which he sponsored and actively campaigned for, hit some of the right notes for battling one of the inequalities that confront the LGBT community, including those living with HIV, saying, for instance:

For a free and diverse people,… for a people of many faiths,… for a people committed to the principle of religious freedom,… the way forward is always to be found through greater respect for the equal rights of all; for the human dignity of all.

Like the newly enacted marriage equality law in Washington, enacted by Gov. Chris Gregoire (D), Maryland’s same-sex marriage law is facing opposition from religious right groups, primarily. They are working to put the newly gained equalities before the voters.

And to see a compelling response to Gov. Christie’s punt on civil liberties, see Newark Mayor Cory Booker’s thoughts here.

by Jeremy Leaming

While some lawmakers and politicians are working to end a few of the nation’s inequalities, like the one centering on the right of gays and lesbians to wed, others are keeping up the ignoble work of trying to hobble or defeat efforts to advance equality.

For example, in many of the states where marriage equality is advancing, special interest groups have mounted, or in the midst of doing so, campaigns to ensure that government recognition of marriage belongs exclusively to men and women.

After Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire enacted marriage equality legislation, social conservatives promised to gather enough signatures to place the newly gained civil liberty before the voters. N.J. Gov. Chris Christie has endorsed placing civil liberties before the voters when he vetoed a bill allowing lesbians and gays to wed. (Newark, N.J. Mayor Cory Booker took issue with Christie’s tactic, saying equal rights should never be placed before the whims of the majority.)

Religious right groups are also promising to topple the effort by Maryland to allow same-sex marriage. The Maryland Marriage Alliance, which calls itself a an “interfaith coalition dedicated” to keeping marriage an exclusive institution, has promised to launch a petition movement to place the law before voters, provided it passes the Maryland Senate and is signed by Gov. Martin O’Malley, both highly likely. The Maryland Senate passed a similar measure last year, and O’Malley (pictured) has said he would sign the new measure. The governor has also upped his involvement this time around – he’s sponsoring the equality legislation that is moving through the legislature.

Following the approval last week by the Md. House of Delegates, O’Malley applauded the outcome, saying the chamber had “voted for human dignity.”

The marriage alliance, a gathering of primarily evangelical Christian groups, issued a press statement decrying the House’s vote as undermining the exclusive definition of marriage and noting, “thankfully,” that the state “allows for a referendum process by a people’s vote, and we are committed, if needed, to bring this issue to the vote of the people of Maryland.”

Like the law enacted last year in New York, the Maryland marriage equality measure includes a provision granting an exemption for houses of worship to refuse to marry lesbians and gays. The Maryland Senate is expected, The Washington Post reports, to promptly take up the equality bill. The newspaper says the senate’s Judicial Proceedings Committee and the full chamber “quickly could approve the bill” with the possibility of sending it to O’Malley by week’s end. The state is moving quickly to become the eighth one to allow lesbians and gays to wed, joining Washington, New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Iowa. The District of Columbia also recognizes same-sex marriage.