Maryland Same-Sex Marriage Bills: So What Happened At The Hearing?
Two committees from the Maryland House of Delegates heard debate Friday from lawmakers and lawyers, laypeople and laity, pastors and priests —  both for and against two highly-contested same-sex civil marriage bills during a marathon debate that lasted ten hours. One bill would recognize the right of lesbian and gay couples to marry, making their relationships equal and legal under the law, the other would impose a constitutional ban on all same-sex marriages in the state of Maryland, codifying discrimination and second class citizenship directly into the constitution.
No vote has taken place yet.
Governor Martin O’Malley, who, like New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, and Washington Governor Christine Gregoire, sponsored the same-sex marriage equality bill and delivered opening remarks as Friday’s hearing began. O’Malley is certain to sign a same-sex marriage equality bill were it to make its way through the full House and Senate. A similar bill last year passed the Senate but not the House. Currently there is not a majority for or against same-sex marriage in Maryland.
“This bill balances equal protection of individual civil marriage rights with the important protection of religious freedom for all,” O’Malley testified.
“It is not right or just that the children of gay couples should have lesser protections than the children of other families in our state,†O’Malley added, according to a report in The Washington Blade. “Nor would it be right to force religious institutions to conduct marriages that conflict with their own religious beliefs and teachings.â€
Testimony against same-sex marriage was often heated and vociferous, relying primarily on bible-based rhetoric, ignorance, and flawed ideas of same-sex relationships, along with flawed and refuted studies, while testimony for same-sex marriage relied on primarily on legal arguments, personal experiences, and included a great many religious leaders who support same-sex marriage.
But not all religious leaders who testified were supportive of gay marriage. Nor were some of their congregants.
“All these ministers talking about their homosexuals — let’s go chapter and verse and see who’s a liar,” one anti-gay citizen yelled, preaching from the Bible, adding, “homosexuals destroy the foundation of civilization,” and “the homosexuals will be cast in a lake of fire.” His testimony lasted almost five minutes.
Another arguing against marriage equality claimed that “lifestyle choice” leads to HIV/AIDS and therefore Maryland should ban same-sex marriage. The ignorance and irony of his comments escaped him.
“I’m not a ‘homo-phobiac’ nor a ‘xeno-phobiac.’ People who have special propensities can do what they will,” Delegate Emmett Burns said. “Same-sex marriage is bad for people of my church and bad for the state … I don’t want your protection … The law is that marriage is between a man and a WO-MAN,” he proclaimed. “You cannot protect our churches – you don’t know how. Gays and lesbians are protected because they can hide their sexual orientation – they are already protected,” adding, “Children are being used in this process. Children are being used for the purpose of same-sex marriage.”
Others who testified against marriage equality were professional gay-haters, like one Alliance Defense Fund attorney who quoted Aristotle, ironically, perhaps, not realizing that Aristotle was gay and praised same-sex unions.
But Delegate Simmons might have been the hero of the day. The Washington Post wrote that he “peppered a panel of religious leaders opposed to the bill with questions about the source of their opposition. Simmons suggested the only reasons were rooted in a desire to impose their religious beliefs on others.”
“I have heard no evidence at all how same-sex marriage effects your families, the church. . . . There’s not a syllable of evidence. You just don’t like it,†Simmons said.
Simmons also challenged another citizen who testified vehemently against marriage equality and claimed he was concerned about the future of “traditional marriage,” and worried because he believed the institution of marriage was in trouble.
“Last year we made divorce easier, did you come to testify against that?,” Simmons asked, receiving a squirming answer that meant “no.”
“We’ve had bills dealing with domestic violence, have you ever come to testify about them?,” Simmons continued. The respondent, stunningly, claimed he saw no relationship between domestic violence and preserving marriages.
Simmons also told a religious leader preaching biblical concepts against gay marriage, that he himself is a straight man, married 41 years, and said,  “[Gay] people who want to get married have a right to be left alone from people like you.”
Governor O’Malley, who had kicked off the heating at 1:10 PM, returned at 11:20 PM in time to hear the final comments. The hearing ended at 11:40 PM. It is unclear but a committee vote might take place as soon as Monday.
For additional reporting, read John Riley’s report at MetroWeekly,  and Lou Chibbaro Jr.’s report at The Washington Blade.
Image via Equality Maryland via Twitter.
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Despite President Donald Trump’s repeated claims that there is “no inflation,” consumer prices jumped in June, rising to an annual rate of 2.7%—the highest level in months. Economists cite the President’s tariffs, now beginning to take effect, along with rising costs for food, energy, and rent.
The Consumer Price Index increase “is slightly higher than expected and is up from an annual pace of 2.4 percent in May,” according to The New York Times.
ABC News called it “a notable surge of price increases as President Trump’s tariff policy took hold.”
“Worsening inflation poses a political challenge for President Donald Trump, who promised during last year’s presidential campaign to immediately lower costs,” the Associated Press reported Tuesday, noting that inflation “rose last month to its highest level since February as President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs push up the cost of a range of goods.”
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As far back as August of 2024, Trump vowed, “Starting on day one, we will end inflation and make America affordable again, to bring down the prices of all goods.”
Days later, he added, “Under my administration, we will be slashing energy and electricity prices by half within 12 months, at a maximum 18 months.”
Fast forward to just one day before Election Day: “A vote for Trump means your groceries will be cheaper,” he promised.
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“Tariffs are starting to raise prices,” observed Heather Long, a Washington Post columnist and the chief economist at the Navy Federal Credit Union.
“This is just the beginning,” she added. “But we need to watch food closely. Increases there are really tough on middle class and moderate-income households.”
Long pointed to several categories of imports and listed their price jumps:
“Linens +5.9%, Oranges +4.7%, Olives +4.4%, Cookware +4%, Audio equipment +2.9%, Major appliances +2.4%, Coffee +2.2%, Sports equipment +1.8%, Toys +1.4%,” while noting that eggs are down 10.8 percent.
Center for American Progress President Neera Tanden, a former top Biden administration official, wrote simply, “Thanks for raising our cost of living with your inane tariffs @realDonaldTrump.”
U.S. Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA) noted, “Trump and Republicans are hurting our economy and increasing your costs.”
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Image via Reuters
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“Medicaid is bankrupting almost every state,” Secretary Rollins claimed in remarks on Monday (video below).
With the Republicans gutting over $1 trillion in federal Medicaid funds, and approximately $200 billion in SNAP funds, states face either picking up that massive shortfall or cutting some programs, benefits, or users.
Medicaid is “taking between 30, 40, 45, 50 percent of the state budgets, and has for a really long time, for those of us who come from state policy, we know this very, very well,” Rollins continued. State funds for Medicaid (not including federal matching funds) account for less than 20 percent of state budgets, overall, according to the Pew Research Center.
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Secretary Rollins previously served as a policy director for Texas Governor Rick Perry and led the right-wing Texas Public Policy Foundation. More recently, she headed the America First Policy Institute, a conservative think tank dedicated to advancing President Trump’s first post-presidency agenda.
Rollins decried what she says is the number one purchase using SNAP funds: “sugary drinks and junk food.”
“Frankly, we have to make a change,” she insisted.
“So there is a lot of wholesale across the government that we can do, but there’s also a recognition that a lot of these communities that are part of the Medicaid program, they don’t always have access to healthy food,” Rollins continued, not mentioning the billions the BBB Act gutted from both.
Rollins insisted the federal government has to do “a better job through our nutrition programs, through our partnerships, et cetera, of ensuring that those communities have access to healthy foods.”
“So on the back end, we have programs that are not bankrupting our government.”
Watch the video below or at this link.
Brooke Rollins: “Medicaid is bankrupting almost every state … we have to do a better job through our nutrition programs of ensuring that those communities have access to health foods, so on the backend we have programs that are not bankrupting our government.” pic.twitter.com/WyaQp3C9Hy
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) July 14, 2025
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Image via Reuters
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The meeting was attended by about 60 CEOs and business leaders who have donated to faith-based causes, in an attempt to persuade them to invest in the White House Faith Office, according to Fox News.
“White House Faith Office senior advisor Pastor Paula White, Faith Director Jenny Korn, National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Small Business Administrator Kelly Loeffler will attend the event and also deliver remarks,” Fox News also reported.
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Trump was “expected to explain why the White House Faith Office is so important to his agenda,” and “encourage business leaders to help the Trump administration, specifically on programs concerning foster care and adoption, fatherhood initiatives, poverty alleviation, substance abuse and prisoner reentry.”
But the President also explained (video below) “one thing” about Democrats: “they have bad policy, they’re evil people in many ways, but they stick together,” he claimed.
Trump warned that if Republicans don’t stand together “and make the economy strong…you’re gonna literally have perhaps a depression, where you people so rich, so beautiful, so nice to look at, will be totally busted. And let’s see how long your wife stays with you, your beautiful — she’ll stay with you for about three weeks and she’ll say, ‘Darling, I can’t take you anymore. I can’t take it anymore, darling, I’m leaving you’.”
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Watch the video below or at this link.
Trump on Democrats during his speech to a faith group: “They’re evil people in many ways.” pic.twitter.com/qhxgccA7Mj
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) July 14, 2025
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