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.