Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Married same-sex couples who reside in Maryland can file jointly in 2014.
Same-sex married couples in Maryland will be able to file joint tax returns but they'll have to wait a year to do so. Comptroller Peter Franchot said Wednesday in a statement that "same-sex couples in the State of Maryland – whether married in this state or in other states – will have the opportunity to file joint tax returns for Tax Year 2013, and will receive the same state tax treatment as any married couple." The comptroller issued the statement a day after a Washington Times story reported that same-sex couples in Maryland would not be eligible to file jointly. Franchot said the story "contained significant misinformation regarding the tax filing status of same-sex couples in Maryland." That story raises questions about Maryland's tax…
Friday, November 30, 2012
State attorney general gives the go ahead.
- ELECTIONS
-
Friday, November 30, 2012
By DANA AMIHERE Capital News Service An opinion released Thursday by the Maryland attorney general’s office said that same-sex couples can obtain marriage licenses as soon as Gov. Martin O’Malley “formally proclaims” the results of the November election, which he is expected to do on or about Dec. 6. The law, and therefore the licenses, will not be effective until Jan. 1. Attorney General Douglas Gansler answered other questions about the implementation of Maryland's same-sex marriage law in a 19-page opinion. Gansler and Chief Counsel Adam Snyder found that postdating the licenses’ effective date doesn’t impose an unconstitutional waiting period on same-sex couples because it’s the ceremony, not the license, that validates the marriage…
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
DREAM Act, expanded gambling and congressional redistricting also survive referendum challenges.
UPDATED (2:26 a.m.)—Same-sex marriage is the law in Maryland. The passage of the controversial law was the biggest win among a list of six other statewide ballot questions including the DREAM Act, expanded gambling and congressional redistricting that all also passed. Gov. Martin O'Malley took to the podium to address the Question 6 victory party at The Soundstage in Baltimore early Wednesday to chants of his last name. O'Malley thanked the crowd for all they had done "in this noble battle to move Maryland Forward." The governor praised supporters for all their hard work and for securing support for the controversial ballot question by talking to their families and their religious institutions. "You were carrying this banner of human …
Thursday, October 18, 2012
How will you vote on the Congressional redistricting plan on Nov. 6?
In addition to more notable referendum questions such as same-sex marriage, DREAM Act and expanded gambling, Maryland voters will also be asked to decide the fate of the state's recently redrawn congressional districts. Earlier this week, Comptroller Peter Franchot announced he intends to vote against the maps and asked voters to do the same. The comptroller said the recent maps drawn by Gov. Martin O'Malley and approved by the General Assembly are unfair and make Maryland "the poster child for gerrymandering." A spokeswoman for the governor noted that the maps have survived a number of challenges in the courts and that the process used to create them is legally sound. Voters on Nov. 6 will be asked to vote for the referred law or against …
Friday, May 18, 2012
Ruling stems from divorce case filed by a couple married in California in 2008.
UPDATED (5:12 p.m.)—Same-sex marriages legally performed out of state must be recognized by Maryland Courts, according to a decision issued Friday by Maryland’s highest court. “Maryland courts will withhold recognition of a valid foreign marriage only if that marriage is ‘repugnant’ to State public policy,” wrote Court of Appeals Judge Glenn Harrell Jr. in the 7-0 decision. Legal experts and Maryland Attorney General Douglas Gansler said the decision has both immediate and long-term effects—even as the state moves toward a possible referendum on the recently passed law allowing same-sex marriage in the state. Gansler, who in 2010 issued what he called “a forecast” opinion predicting the court would ultimately recognize out-of-state same-…
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Citizens cited religion, rights during public hearing with representatives.
The Maryland Senate is scheduled to vote Thursday on a bill to legalize same-sex marriage—a measure that narrowly passed in the House of Delegates last week, with votes split 72-67. Three senators from Howard County have stated that they plan to vote for the bill’s passage. Sens. James Robey (D-Howard) and Allan Kittleman (R-Howard/Carroll) are co-sponsors of the legislation. An aide to Sen. Ed Kasemeyer (D-Howard/Baltimore) confirmed via email that he planned to support the bill as well. However, constituents at a hearing Tuesday evening told the Howard County Delegation they were not unanimously supportive. An Elkridge man asked the senators, on religious grounds, to vote against the Civil Marriage Protection Act. “We now defend and do …
Friday, February 17, 2012
House Minority Leader Anthony O'Donnell says proponents have the votes needed for passage later this afternoon.
The Maryland House of Delegates appears poised to pass same-sex marriage legislation when it meets late Friday afternoon. "(Proponents) have secured the final vote," said Del. Anthony O'Donnell, the House minority leader. Del. Tiffany Alston, a Prince George's County Democrat who previously opposed the bill and voted against it in committee, emerged from House Speaker Michael E. Busch's office and later offered a two-part amendment. The first part prevents the law from going into effect if there is pending court litigation. A second part of the amendment would require judges to strike down the entire law should any part of it be illegal. "(Alston's) vote was contingent on the passing of that amendment," said O'Donnell. Following the nearly…
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
O’Malley introduced legislation on Monday to make same-sex marriage legal.
Gov. Martin O’Malley introduced legislation this week that would make same-sex marriage legal in Maryland. Same-sex marriage was debated in Annapolis last year, but it ended up stalling in the House of Delegates. This year, O’Malley said “momentum is growing” for same-sex marriage in Maryland, with labor organizations AFL-CIO and SEIU 1199 offering endorsements this month. Washington, D.C., and six other states have laws allowing same-sex marriage, according to the Baltimore Sun. “Other states have found a way to do this. We can find a way to do this, too,” O’Malley said during a press conference Tuesday morning, which was posted on YouTube. Faith-based organizations, including the Maryland Catholic Conference of Roman Catholics and the …
bystander
10:42 am on Monday, December 24, 2012
I would bet most gay folks are against the idea (and even legislation) of several people entering into a marriage. Most Patch commentators proclaiming their homosexual partnership have been silent on defending this idea. Maryland should make people partnerships the same as corporate partnerships...any number of people and any gender. It removes the religion from the subject, which seems to have … more ›