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Maryland marriage law not based on Bible, says professor.

A Maryland state proposal to prohibit same-sex marriages has sparked a sharp exchange over the role of religion in government. During a March 1 committee hearing on a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriages, Sen. Nancy Jacobs cited a religious rationale for her support of the proposal. Jacobs, a...

Marriage – Or Even Its Benefits – Denied in Maryland

In a 5-2 ruling strongly reminiscent of last year's decision by the Washington State Supreme Court, which was similarly sharply divided, Maryland's highest court on September 18 found that denying the right to marry to same-sex couples does not violate the Maryland Constitution. By a narrower vote, 4-3, the Maryland Court of Appeals also implicitly ruled that same-sex couples are not constitutionally entitled to the rights and benefits associated with marriage through any alternative arrangement such as a civil union. Writing for a majority of the court, Judge Glenn T. Harrell, Jr., rejected the reasoning in Baltimore Circuit Judge M. Brooke

Maryland Highest Court Hears Same-Sex Marriage Case

Same-sex marriage is a subject best left to lawmakers, state attorneys argued Monday in a Court of Appeals case that could shake Maryland's long-held view of matrimony. In a court brief filed by the Maryland attorney general last week, the state defended Maryland's 1973 law defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman, but indicated openness to legislation that would pave the way for the legalization of same-sex marriage. The court should defer to the Maryland General Assembly, "where competing policies and their complexities could be balanced," rather than "constitutionalizing a matter and removing it from the democratic

Maryland judge assailed for pro-gay ruling

Maryland lawmaker Donald H. Dwyer Jr. called for the impeachment of Baltimore Circuit Court Judge M. Brooke Murdock on Tuesday for ruling Maryland's marriage law unconstitutional and discriminatory. In January Murdock ruled on the side of same-sex couples who claimed the state's marriage law violated the state Constitution. That decision is being appealed. Dwyer, the Republican author of a failed attempt to put a ban on same-sex marriages on the November ballot, wants Murdock removed from the bench for what he calls "incompetence" and "misbehavior." Dwyer believes that by making an "address for removal" to the House he can force the Judiciary Committee

Putting Maryland’s Marriage Law on Trial

On Jan. 20, a Baltimore circuit court judge, M. Brooke Murdock, thrust the state of Maryland into the middle of the national debate about same-sex marriage when she ruled that the state's 33-year-old definition of marriage -- "a union between a man and a woman" -- was unconstitutional. Her ruling immediately prompted Republican legislators to propose a constitutional amendment barring same-sex marriage, which could land the politically-sensitive issue in the lap of the Democratic-controlled legislature. Meanwhile, the Virginia legislature all but agreed last week to place a referendum on the November ballot that would ban same-sex marriage. News accounts about Murdock's