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Same-sex couples have been able to marry in Maryland since January 1, 2013. On March 1, 2012, Governor Martin O’Malley signed H.B.438, a bill that allowed same-sex couples to marry. However, opponents gathered signatures to put a referendum that would have repealed the new law on the ballot.

On November 6, 2012, the referendum did not pass. NCLR worked as part of a broad coalition to help pass the bill and defeat the referendum. Even before this law went into effect, Maryland already recognized marriages between same-sex couples entered in other jurisdictions. On May 18, 2012, the Court of Appeals of Maryland (the state’s highest court), ruled in Port v.

Same Sex Marriage Legalized in Maryland

Cowan that Maryland must recognize an out-of-state marriage of a same-sex couple if the marriage was valid in the state where the couple married. Under the legal doctrine of “comity,” the court held that Maryland must recognize out-of-state marriages for purposes of divorce and for all other purposes, even if the couple could not have entered into the marriage within the state.

When did same sex marriage become legal in the state of Maryland?

Same-sex marriage in Maryland has been legally recognized since January 1, 2013. In 2012, the state’s Democratic representatives, led by Governor Martin O’Malley, began a campaign for its legalization. After much debate, a law permitting same-sex marriage was passed by the General Assembly (Maryland’s bicameral legislature, composed of the Senate and House of Delegates ) in February 2012 and signed on March 1, 2012.

The law took effect on January 1, 2013 after 52.4% of voters approved a statewide referendum held on November 6, 2012. The vote was hailed as a watershed moment by gay rights activists and marked the first time marriage rights in the United States had been extended to same-sex couples by popular vote.

Upon the rise of the same-sex marriage movement in the early 1970s, Maryland established the first law in the United States that expressly defined marriage to be a union between a man and a woman. Attempts to both ban and legalize same-sex marriage in the 1990s and 2000s failed to gain enough support from central committees of the General Assembly.

• Roman Catholic authorities throughout the state were adamantly opposed to the legalization of same-sex marriage, saying it deeply conflicted with the best interests of society, and would threaten religious liberty.
• The debates produced disputes between individuals who had been traditionally aligned on causes and prompted sharp criticism from African-American religious leaders who said same-sex marriage would “disrupt the fabric of the culture”.

Before passage of the Civil Marriage Protection Act, the state recognized same-sex marriages performed in other jurisdictions following the 2010 release of a legal opinion from Attorney General Doug Gansler in his nine-month analysis of comity laws.

How much money will Maryland’s same-sex marriage law bring to state economy?

Economic impact – A study from the University of California, Los Angeles estimated in 2007 that extending marriage rights to same-sex couples would result in a net gain of approximately $ 3.2 million each year to the state budget, The study drew on data from the U.S.

• Census Bureau and Maryland statistical reports.
• The gain is attributable to savings in expenditures on means-tested public benefit programs and an increase in sales and lodging tax revenue from weddings and wedding-related tourism,
• Another Williams Institute study conducted in February 2012 estimated that in the first three years of legalization, Maryland same-sex couples would generate between $40 and $64 million for the state economy, in addition to whatever revenue out-of-state couples bring.

Several dozen small employers in the state have also said that same-sex marriage would be good for their businesses, helping to attract and retain talent.

What are the legal rights of a same-sex couple in Maryland?

Recognition of same-sex relationships – In 1973, Maryland became the first state to ban civil marriage between persons of the same sex, with the passage of legislation amending the family law statute. Same-sex marriage has been legal since January 1, 2013.

1. In 2012, Governor Martin O’Malley introduced a same-sex marriage bill to the Maryland General Assembly,
2. After much debate, the law permitting same-sex marriage, known as the Civil Marriage Protection Act, was approved by the House of Delegates in a 72–67 vote on February 17, 2012, and was approved by the Senate in a 25–22 vote on February 23, 2012.

Governor O’Malley signed the law on March 1, 2012. The law took effect on January 1, 2013, after 52.4% of voters approved Maryland Question 6 in a referendum held on November 6, 2012. The vote was hailed as a watershed moment by gay rights activists and marked the first time marriage rights in the United States were extended to same-sex couples by popular vote.

1. Roman Catholic authorities and African-American religious leaders throughout the state had opposed the legislation, saying it would conflict with the best interests of society and threaten religious liberty.
2. Since 2008, a limited form of domestic partnership has been available to all unmarried couples at least 18 years of age, who can verify their interdependent relationship through documentation.

Legal protections for partners include hospital visitation, end-of-life decisions, and joint property rights. Since 2009, Maryland provides employee benefits to the same-sex partners of state employees. The state has recognized valid same-sex marriages performed in other states and jurisdictions since 2010.

Did O’Malley introduce same-sex marriage bill in Maryland?

References –

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Irving S. Martin