Also in Annapolis:
» Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley signed into law the $5,000 tax credit for every unemployed Marylander companies hire, as well as a measure to change the unemployment insurance trust fund so the state can attain $127 million in federal stimulus money.
ANNAPOLIS — House Minority Leader Anthony J. O’Donnell is pushing a bill that would prohibit state agencies from recognizing same-sex marriages performed outside the state, in the latest effort to nullify the attorney general’s ruling on gay marriage. “This is one of the most important bills this session,” O’Donnell said before the Judiciary Committee on Thursday. His bill would place a moratorium on same-sex unions until the General Assembly or an appeals court weighs in on the matter.
Gay marriage is illegal in Maryland, but in late February, Maryland Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler moved the state closer to legalization with a mandate saying state agencies must begin recognizing same-sex couples for tax purposes.
Gansler’s mandate was quickly endorsed by Gov. Martin O’Malley, who advised state agencies to follow suit.
Now, lawmakers are questioning the attorney general’s authority to change Maryland law on the drop of a dime.
Del. Don H. Dwyer Jr., R-Anne Arundel County, is planning to bring articles of impeachment against Gansler in the House Wednesday for his “abuse” of authority.
O’Donnell, R-Calvert and St. Mary’s counties, is taking a different approach. He says his bill would protect gays and lesbians from the painful disappointment of “false hope.”
“The worst thing we can do as a legislature is give out false hope,” he said. “It would be patently unfair, in my opinion, if people are given rights and then the legislature yanks the rug out from underneath them in a very, very cruel way.”
“The worst thing we can do as a legislature is give out false hope,” he said. “It would be patently unfair, in my opinion, if people are given rights and then the legislature yanks the rug out from underneath them in a very, very cruel way.”
Del. Benjamin S. Barnes, D-Anne Arundel and Prince George’s counties, called O’Donnell’s sympathies “presumptuous.”
“I’m certain the LGBT community will be excited to hear that you are concerned about their false hope; but I think to them, this is some hope, not false hope,” he said.
Laure Ruth, legal director of the Women’s Law Center of Maryland, said O’Donnell’s bill is a convoluted version of the ban on same-sex marriage — which failed earlier in the session.
