Same-sex marriage
case heads to Md. Court
9 couples challenge
state law limiting unions to heterosexuals
By Elizabeth Weill
Greenberg, washingtonblade.com Online July 16, 2005
Baltimore, July 15 -- The
Baltimore Circuit Court is scheduled to hear oral arguments July 27 in a
Maryland lawsuit seeking to legalize same-sex marriage.
The suit, Deane and Polyak vs. Conaway, was filed in July 2004 by the American
Civil Liberties Union on behalf of nine same-sex couples and a gay man whose
partner died. It is challenging the constitutionality of a 1973 provision
that limits marriage to a man and a woman, according to David Rocah, an attorney
with the ACLU working on the case.
New Jersey, California, New York and Washington also have pending same-sex
marriage cases, according to the gay rights group Lambda Legal. Massachusetts is
the only state to recognize same-sex marriage.
“Gay and lesbian families are not being treated equally,” Rocah said. “We
believe that the fundamental right at issue is the right to marry and it is
being arbitrarily denied to gay and lesbian families.”
Because of Maryland’s progressive legal history, he said, it is an “appropriate
place to be pursuing the road to equality through the judiciary.”
Maryland courts have a tradition of not discriminating based on sexual
orientation in custody cases and of approving second parent adoptions for
same-sex families, Rocah said.
Religious groups back gay couples
Even though it is still early in the Maryland case, several local
organizations, including the Maryland chapter of the National Organization for
Women and the National Lawyers Guild-Maryland, have authored amicus briefs in
support of the couples. The couples have scheduled a news conference the
day before the hearing to announce which religious organizations have signed on
to support their case.
Rev. Andrew Foster Connors of the Brown Memorial Park Avenue Presbyterian Church
in Baltimore, said it is especially important for the Christian community to
speak out in support of same-sex marriage.
“The voices of opposition that have been the loudest have come from the
religious community — the right wing part of the Christian faith,” he said. “Not
all Christians speak with that kind of voice.”
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Jodi Kelber-Kaye
and Stacey Kargman-Kaye hope their lawsuit leaves a legacy for
their children. Oral arguments are scheduled for July 27. (Photo by Matt
Houston/AP) |
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Rick Bowers, chair of Defend Maryland
Marriage, which has worked to stop the recognition of gay marriage in Maryland,
said he is concerned that Maryland judges may “jump on the bandwagon” and
legislate from the bench.
“I think any decision that would tear at the fabric of family should be looked
at closely,” he said.
But the couples in the lawsuit said that allowing them to marry would only
strengthen and protect their families. Jodi Kelber-Kaye and Stacey Kargman-Kaye
felt it was important to join the suit because of their vulnerability during
medical emergencies.
“To have this question — it adds another layer of hysteria that’s not needed,”
Kelber-Kaye said.
When their younger son was born prematurely and Kelber-Kaye, the birth mother,
was unable to make decisions, the nurses didn’t recognize Kargman-Kaye as a
co-parent. The nurses finally listened to her when the midwife came in to
explain who Kargman-Kaye was.
“We’re at the mercy of nice nurses,” Kargman-Kaye said, adding she hopes her
involvement in the suit will leave a legacy for her children.
Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg can be reached at
eweill-greenberg@washblade.com.
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