Just Kidding, Maryland Isn’t Getting Gay Marriage Anytime Soon

We’ve had good reason to be cautiously optimistic about the legalizing of same-sex marriage in Maryland; it successfully passed through the Senate, and had moved past the House Judiciary Committee. Republican representatives were visibly nervous about it, and while no one felt comfortable calling the game, it looked like the bill had more than a fair shot.

Until today, when after a debate on the House floor the bill was sent back to committee. What happened? Well, NOM, among other things. The vote had been tentatively in the Democrat’s favor, but it was always a close call; now, it would appear that NOM and nameless “church groups” managed to scare enough of the more timid delegates into retracting their support. So, it hasn’t been “killed” exactly, but since it seemed sure that it would be if it went to a vote, Maryland Democrats have taken it off the table for this year’s legislative session.

NOM has been fairly quiet and contained so far this year; one would not have been out of line to hope that the apparently very underwhelming response to their “Summer of Marriage” tour and Obama’s recent actions on DOMA and DADT might have dampened their enthusiasm for trying to ruin the lives of complete strangers.  It would seem that this is not the case. So, what we learn is that at least in some cases, waving around the idea of losing conservative and moderate votes for supporting gay rights legislation is an effective strategy. But that isn’t everyone.

It’s tragic that a few individuals, who weren’t willing to put the needs of others before their own hopes of career advancement, could deprive a state’s queer community of its basic rights. But on the whole, there are more politicians in Maryland who support this than who oppose it: it passed the Senate and has the support of the Governor, who was more than ready to sign it into law if it had passed in the House. And the fact that the House Democrats rescued it from being voted means – hopefully – that it’s because they’re optimistic about its passing in the future. They’re saving it for a time when it can succeed, because they believe that time is coming. So this isn’t good news, by any stretch of the imagination. But it’s also not over by any stretch of the imagination. Here’s to sticking this one out.

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Rachel

Originally from Boston, MA, Rachel now lives in the Midwest. Topics dear to her heart include bisexuality, The X-Files and tacos. Her favorite Ciara video is probably "Ride," but if you're only going to watch one, she recommends "Like A Boy." You can follow her on twitter and instagram.

Rachel has written 1142 articles for us.

23 Comments

  1. makes sense, as NOM is silently and insidiously backed by mormon big money. and they seems to really like getting into strangers’ business. boooooo

  2. have you guys ever seen The Wire, it makes me scared that everything is so fucking corrupt there is really no hope for humanity, idk

    • C’mon don’t diss us when we’re down, Baltimore isn’t what that fictitious tv show makes it out to be.

      • It’s based on a lot of truth. I mean, the writers themselves worked in Baltimore as homicide detectives, teachers and journalists and based a lot of the characters on people they knew.

        p.s. the woman who played Snoop(whose nickname irl is also Snoop) was arrested after a drug raid in Baltimore the other day.

        • i actually honestly did not type that comment because this was about maryland and The Wire was about Baltimore. That didn’t even occur to me, i must have been drunk Anyhow! I thought of that because The Wire was about a city in America, and Maryland is a country in America.

          I just finished watching The Wire last night, I have a lot of feleings, also it was so weird that Snoop got arrested as I was finishing watching The Wire

          • “Maryland is a country in America.” Are you drunk now? it’s okay I won’t tell anyone.

            I was so sad about how Dukie ended up.

        • I already heard about that. Yeah -based on truth-, crime and corruption takes place in lots of places. But I was saying it’s not everything that this city is about.

          Anyways Friday was a huge let down :( , and NOM is my worst nightmare

  3. So last night I was over at the FOX news web site having a conversation (if you could call it that) about this bill. I know people are small minded but was actually amazed at the shear ignorance of people. As a gay conservative I was embarrassed by the depravity that I was shown. After 4 hours I gave up, but felt like I said my piece.

    • What’s it like being a gay conservative? I’ve never met one in real life, but I’ve always wanted to.

      Just how ignorant were those people? What did they say to you?

      • Well being a gay conservative kind of sucks. I don’t really fit in anywhere. The conservatives don’t think I am really a conservative because I am gay and there are gays that don’t accept me because I am conservative. I like to think of my self as socially liberal and fiscally conservative.

        So there were several guys that were just insufferable. one guy told me that if I cared about my appearance and tried to be attractive to a man that I would no longer need to be a lesbian. REALLY!!! Gee I would have never thought of that. And that if I tried harder I could over come my love of women. Like I would want to. Then there was just a bunch of name calling and snipping. Whatever I am smarter than all of them so they can say whatever they want.

        I hope this comes out right the reply box is being weird.

  4. “here’s to sticking this one out”? How about not! How about here’s to finding whoever is responsible and knocking some heads together! One of my really good friends is supposed to get married in September, and now can’t do so in her own state because these people won’t pass the damn bill. She is not the only one. I kno i don’t really have to say this because you all know what the consequences of this kind of thing are, but it really deserves to be restated. This is affecting people NOW in ways they should not have to be affected, and we shouldn’t have to keep “sticking it out”.

  5. it’s kind of a huge bummer for me.

    i met my love in maryland. we’ve been together seven years and just recently registered as DPs in the state of NY.

    when i heard about the move in Maryland to legalize gay marriage, i let myself get excited.

    I told her, “If they legalize it, I’m marrying you in the state we met.”

    I let myself feel romantic and hopeful which are two things i try very hard to keep on low.

    in my mind i started imagining saying vows in the church in my MD college grounds…our friends…hotels…my mother’s dress…ring bearers…things that involve a traditional awesome dorky lovely wedding.

    and then poof…just like that, Maryland said, “errr uhhmmm…let’s talk about this another time, kids.”

    it’s so frustrating to feel like my fantasies AND rights are limited by a small chosen few who know nothing about me or about truth or fairness or anything.

    anyway, i’m going to stop writing before I get misty eyed…

    so somewhere deep in my heart, i’ll be holding out for a Maryland wedding.

    on my sleeve, i’ll keep the bitterness and nonchalance about marriage equality as a buffer.

    heartbreak is a bitch.

  6. To show that gays should be able to marry, they should just show John Waters’ entire oeuvre on the Senate floor.

  7. I just hope I live to see the day that gay marriage is legal on a federal level becuase we move around alot. Like seriously, A LOT! But it is hard to keep hoping for that day to come when you hear this kind of news about another state failing to deliver.

    I truly feel for all those couples who had made plans. That just breaks my heart.

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