Monday, December 31, 2012
Numerous key laws passed in 2012 by the Maryland General Assembly take effect on Jan. 1.
Same-sex marriage, a first-in-the-nation arsenic ban for chicken feed and a law designed to protect children's credit reports are among the Maryland laws taking effect on Jan. 1. Some, including the marriage law and a Baltimore City charter amendment, were passed by voters in November. Others tweak existing rules, like renewable energy credits and car insurance. Here are the key laws you need to know about that take effect, according to a Maryland General Assembly document. Same-sex marriage: The Civil Marriage Protection Act, passed in the 2012 session, petitioned to referendum and ratified by Maryland voters in November, takes effect as scheduled on Jan. 1. Maryland was one of the first three states to ratify same-sex marriage at the …
Friday, December 7, 2012
Couples seek marriage licenses in the county within 36 hours of first day same-sex couples can pick up licenses.
Four same-sex couples have applied for marriage licenses within the first 36 hours of being able to do so in Howard County, according to the Marriage License Department of the Circuit Court for Howard County. "We were kind of expecting more, but maybe they know they have time," said Drew Furletti, manager of the county's land records office. Thursday marked the first day same-sex couples could apply for marriage licenses in the state. Gov. Martin O'Malley signed the election results around 10 a.m. Thursday morning, which made the Question 6 referendum results official. Marriage licenses obtained in December won't become effective until Jan. 1 when the law legalizing gay marriage goes into effect. But by opening up license applications in…
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
CASA of Maryland’s advocacy for next month's referendum on same-sex marriage has sparked the ire of religious leaders
Polls say one thing, but religious leaders say another on the question of whether Hispanic-Americans in Maryland will support same-sex marriage in next month's landmark referendum. National and statewide polling of Latinos has shown a steady turn in favor of same-sex marriage. The Pew Research Center recently published a poll that shows “rapidly growing support” for gay marriage among Hispanics nationwide, with 52 percent for and 34 percent against. It is the first time that a Pew poll showed a majority of Latinos in favor of same-sex marriage. That support divides along religious lines. An April poll commissioned by the National Council of La Raza found that 79 percent of atheist or agnostic Latinos support same-sex marriage, 67 percent…
Thursday, October 18, 2012
A newly released Washington Post poll shows residents favor upholding the same sex marriage law.
A Washington Post poll found that 52 percent of likely Maryland voters would uphold the state law allowing same-sex marriages, while 43 percent would vote against upholding it. If approved, the law will go into effect next year. Same-sex marriage won a narrow legislative approval earlier this year, but opponents petitioned to have a referendum placed on the November ballot—Question 6. The Post poll, which telephoned 1,106 Maryland adults, found likely voters divided on the issue by race, region and political party: In September, Gonzales Research, an Annapolis polling firm, found similar results in its poll. The firm polled 813 registered voters across the state and found that 51 percent of likely voters would support Question 6, while …
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Sen. Allan Kittleman (R-Howard) said the issue is not a theological one.
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Tuesday, September 11, 2012
By Caitlin Johnston, CAPITAL NEWS SERVICE Gay rights activists, religious leaders and politicians are gearing up for two months of campaigning on the Maryland referendum to strike down same-sex marriage legislation that passed in March. "This is not something that's esoteric or theological," said Maryland Sen. Allan Kittleman (R-Howard), who supports same-sex marriage. "These are real people who are living in our state that are unable to receive the benefit that others have simply because of their sexual orientation." Maryland became the seventh state to legalize same-sex marriage when Gov. Martin O'Malley signed the Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Protection Act in March. But the act takes effect in January, allowing opponents to …
Friday, August 3, 2012
Add your pictures by clicking "Upload Photos and Videos."
In response to Chick-fil-A's president making statements in support of traditional marriage, same-sex marriage supporters deemed Friday, Aug. 3, as "National Same Sex Kiss Day at Chick-fil-A." Same-sex couples are taking pictures in front of the fast food locations across the country as part of the demonstration. Above, Elkridge couple Julie and Sama Bellomo posed for a kiss in front of the Chick-fil-A on Executive Park Drive in Columbia. Add your pictures by clicking "Upload Photos and Videos." Tension has ensued after Dan Cathy, Chick-fil-A's president, shared his views on family during a visit to North Carolina. "We are very much supportive of the family—the biblical definition of the family unit. We are a family-owned business, a …
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Ken Ulman co-hosts fundraiser with Howard County official supporting Marylanders for Marriage Equality.
Yesterday, I received an email inviting me to an event co-hosted by Howard County Executive Ken Ulman and Howard County Register of Wills Byron Macfarlane. The event is “in support of marriage equality in Maryland,” specifically benefiting the umbrella group Marylanders for Marriage Equality. As Joe Biden would say, this is a big [expletive] deal. It’s perhaps not as a big a deal as it would have been a month ago, before President Obama openly declared his support for same-sex marriage. But, still, politicians who have (purportedly) aspiration for higher office publically fundraising in support of same-sex marriage signals a shift in mind-set. (And if Ulman doesn’t run for governor, I would expect a lot of people to be asking for their …
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
The signatures against same-sex marriage, which were kept in a Hanover warehouse, were submitted Tuesday.
Opponents of same-sex marriage Tuesday turned in more than enough signatures to take the issue to a referendum in November. The signatures must still be validated by the Board of Elections. The Maryland Catholic Conference and the Maryland Marriage Alliance joined forces in gathering signatures, according to the Catholic Review. The General Assembly authorized the recognition of same-sex marriage earlier this year, making Maryland the eighth jurisdiction to take such action. For the issue to go to referendum, opponents needed to have 56,000 signatures total, according to Reuters, one third of which had to be submitted by May 31. The Maryland Marriage Alliance, a grassroots organization dedicated to preserving the "traditional definition of…
Thursday, May 10, 2012
In an interview on ABC News, the president says he supports same-sex marriage. The issue is likely to go to referendum in Maryland this fall.
President Barack Obama picked the day after a decisive vote in North Carolina to announce that his "evolution" on the issue of same-sex marriage was complete—he now supports it. In an interview with ABC News on Wednesday, Obama said: ...when I think about members of my own staff who are in incredibly committed monogamous relationships, same-sex relationships, who are raising kids together, when I think about those soldiers or airmen or marines or sailors who are out there fighting on my behalf and yet feel constrained, even now that Don't Ask Don't Tell is gone, because they are not able to commit themselves in a marriage—at a certain point, I’ve just concluded that for me personally it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I …
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Law goes to governor for signature and a likely referendum challenge.
The Maryland State Senate passed same-sex marriage by a 25-22 vote Thursday night. The passage of the bill comes less than a week after the House of Delegates passed the identical bill. The bill now goes to Gov. Martin O'Malley for his signature. The law, which goes into effect Jan. 1, 2013, is expected to face a referendum challenge and could end up on the November ballot along with the bill that grants in-state tuition rates to some children of illegal immigrants.
Michelle L
10:55 am on Wednesday, January 2, 2013
Wow....we actually needed a law to ban arsenic in our food supply. more ›