Wearing a tie dotted with a beer icon and his wife in tow, Todd Schuler recognized he doesn’t have much to gain personally if lawmakers legalize gay marriage.
But testifying before a packed House of Delegates hearing room Thursday, the Baltimore County Democrat said all couples should enjoy the 400-some marital protections he and his wife do.
“I absolutely have skin in this game,” Schuler said.
Schuler was one of several legislators who offered glimpses into their personal lives in support of gay marriage Thursday. Montgomery County Democrat Del. Heather Mizeur talked about her partner, Deborah, who she described as a “legal stranger” under existing law.
Del. Jolene Ivey said her parents weren’t able to move to Maryland until the state repealed laws against interracial marriage — which shecalled no less discriminatory than laws against same-sex marriage.
“I think my grandparents were worried about how my brother and I would turn out,” the Prince George’s Democrat said. “I think we turned out OK.”
Lawmakers are considering eliminating gender language from Maryland’s marriage statute under a bill sponsored by Prince George’s County Democratic Del. Ben Barnes and backed by 40 co-sponsors. A Feb. 15 Senate hearing on the same proposal generated the first endorsement from a statewide official, Attorney General Douglas Gansler.
Legislators are also considering a proposal to put a ban on same-sex marriages to a statewide vote, another to recognize domestic partnerships and another to establish civil unions, which are not recognized in other states.
Gov. Martin O’Malley has said he prefers civil unions. His spokesman, Rick Abbruzzese, said Thursday the governor would support an extension of medical decisions to same-sex partners, but declined to comment on his support of a gay-marriage bill.
