Tag Archives: State: Maryland

LifeSiteNews: A 14-year-old homeschooler who testified before the Maryland state senate against a bill redefining marriage has been the subject of cyberbullying, vicious name-calling, and death threats.

NECN.com: Baltimore County has become the fourth local government in the state to approve a measure protecting transgender people from discrimination.

Washington Post: Republican leaders asked that discussion of the bill be postponed until Thursday.

Reuters: A Maryland Senate committee approved a gay marriage bill on Tuesday, sending the issue to the full Senate and moving Maryland closer to becoming the eighth state to legalize same-sex nuptials.

Letter to the Baltimore Sun: While the legislation specifically mentions First Amendment rights to free exercise of religion, it cannot in the same breath then dictate that some organizations will be ineligible for state or local funding because of how they choose to implement these same First Amendment rights. We must also look at the impact of forcing religious charities to decide whether to stay true to their doctrine or forgo providing services.

Gazette.net: The Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee is scheduled to vote on the House version of the bill at noon Tuesday, said Sen. Brian Frosh (D-Dist. 19) of Bethesda, who chairs the the committee. The bill is expected to get a favorable committee report, and could go to the Senate floor as early as Wednesday, Frosh said.

The Washington Post: It ain’t over until God says that it is over,” Thomas said. “It took one woman to take prayer out of schools. There are too many weak-knee Christians. This is bigger than same-sex marriage. It is about changing society.”

The Washington Post: Here’s how members of the Maryland House of Delegates voted Friday to approve same-sex marriage legislation. The vote was 72-67. A majority of 71 votes was needed.

Baltimore Sun: The House of Delegates is expected to be back in session at 4:30 p.m., when the final debate and vote is expected.

Baltimore Sun: As a handful of undecided Maryland delegates wrestle over their position on same-sex marriage, they’ve received calls from national leaders trying to move them one way or another on the bill.

Huffing Post.

BaltimoreSun.com: Two religious Democrats, Pam Beidle and Johnny Olszewski, both said this afternoon that they would support Gov. Martin O’Malley’s same-sex marriage bill. Both had expressed concerns about the legalization for religious reasons.

The Washington Post: Lawmakers expect a very close vote by Friday on the bill sponsored by Gov. Martin O’Malley (D). It will take 71 votes to pass in the 141-member House.

BaltimoreSun.com: “If you believe in God, you believe God made us in His image. Thus, God made both straight and gay people.”

The Washington Post: In Maryland, a Democratic governor’s efforts to persuade a heavily Democratic legislature to pass a same-sex marriage bill could come down to the votes of a few Republicans.

CNN.com Blogs: But O’Malley, who identified himself as a Catholic, noted Sunday that 28 states already enforce such a policy.

BaltimoreSun.com: The House bill went in with 56 co-sponsors, including House Speaker Michael E. Busch, who rarely puts his name on legislation

Washington Blade – “America’s Leading Gay News Source”: Following McCoy was Maryland Baptist ministers Rev. Dr. John Lund, and Rev. Dr. Nate Thomas, as well as Presbyterian pastor Bob Borger, former mega-church pastor Joel Peebles — who recently lost a court battle over control over his Jericho City of Praise Ministry — as well as some Catholic voices such as Pastor of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Father Eric Arnold, and Maryland Catholic Conference’s Mary Ellen Russell. The testimony was concluded by an attorney specializing in representing churches and ministers, Erika Cole, the Beckett Fund for Religious Liberty’s Eric Baxter, and the anti-gay Alliance Defense Fund’s Brian Raum.

The Washington Post: Brian W. Raum, senior counsel at the Arizona-based Alliance Defense Fund, argued that protections should be extended to businesses, such as wedding planners, who do not believe in gay nuptials.

www.HometownAnnapolis.com – The Capital: The hearing attracted a few witnesses from out of state. Brian W. Raum, is senior counsel for the Arizona-based Alliance Defense Fund. He said the bill fails to protect “religious-minded” individuals and businesses, such as wedding planners and venue halls. “Certain kinds of businesses are going to be negatively affected,” he said. “They may be people of deep faith who don’t want to participate.” After the hearing, Raum seemed perturbed when asked to explain why businesses should be free to discriminate against same-sex couples, while discrimination on racial or religious grounds is illegal. “If you don’t see the difference between race-based discrimination and a protection for marriage between a man and a woman, then I can’t help you on that,” he said.

FRC: If Maryland’s same-sex “marriage” bill was controversial before, then the Governor’s wife just poured gasoline on the fire. In a speech last week, Catherine O’Malley certainly didn’t help her husband’s cause when she was caught on tape calling leaders “cowards” for supporting traditional marriage.

The Washington Post: A poll by The Washington Post has found that half of Maryland residents now support legalizing same-sex marriage.

Baltimore Sun: “We ask the government to fix the problems we already have, not create new ones,” said the Rev. Michael DeAscanis, a Roman Catholic priest in St. Agnes and St. William of York Parish in Baltimore.

The Washington Post: Maryland House Speaker Michael E. Busch said the push for legalizing same-sex marriage is “clearly an issue of civil rights,” during an appearance Tuesday at a prayer breakfast with supportive clergy.

The post and letter are at the Mirror of Justice Blog:

LifeNews.com: ADF Legal Counsel Matt Bowman commented on the law and the lawsuit in remarks to LifeNews.com. “Pro-life pregnancy centers, which freely offer real help and hope to women and their preborn children, shouldn’t be punished by political allies of those who make their money aborting babies,” he said. “This order keeps the city from enforcing a law that is specifically designed to deter pregnant women from receiving the help they need to make fully informed choices about their pregnancy while this lawsuit goes forward. The order also means that the court is likely to find the ordinance unconstitutional.” Bowman noted the court was also critical of the New York Civil Liberties Union’s defense of the city ordinance: “Given the New York Civil Liberties Union’s (“NYCLU”) usual concern for First Amendment rights, its amicus brief supporting Defendant’s expansive view of the commercial speech doctrine is puzzling.”

BaltimoreSun.com: Many Maryland citizens are morally opposed to same-sex marriage. There is real outrage aimed at Gov. Martin O’Malley for encouraging another legislative battle on this issue. I believe it is arrogant and dangerous to redefine God’s eternal law. Doing so would usher in an era of depravity that no amount of lawmaking could ever correct. I recognize that some legislators may not agree with my opinion, so I offer pragmatic reasons to oppose same sex marriage.

The Washington Post: Overall, the Post poll found that 50 percent of Marylanders support allowing gay and lesbian couples to marry while 44 percent are opposed.

The Washington Post: Catherine “Katie” Curran O’Malley said Friday that she regrets characterizing opponents of the Maryland same-sex marriage bill that failed last year as “cowards.”

Baltimore Sun: Protesters are pressuring Ocean City Mayor Rick Meehan to shun a prayer breakfast that features a former high-ranking Army officer who has made anti-Muslim remarks.

BaltimoreSun.com: Population increase is a natural sign of political health. By that measure, Baltimore has been sick a long time. Six straight decades of depopulation have reduced the city by a third. Seeking not only to halt this bad case of “the dreaded shrinks” but reverse it, the mayor has set the modest goal of increasing the city’s population by 22,000 people in 10 years.

Herald-mail.com: O’Malley, a Democrat who is making same-sex marriage a priority of his legislative agenda this year, said bill drafters were especially sensitive to protecting religious freedom in hopes of persuading lawmakers — as well as the state’s voters — to support the legislation.

Washington Post: In a sign of the tough road ahead for same-sex marriage legislation in Maryland, House Speaker Michael E. Busch said Monday that he would assign this year’s bill to two committees instead of one, a procedural change that could increase the measure’s chances of passage.

Baltimore Sun: At an labor dominated Annapolis rally last night where topics ranged from Gov. Martin O’Malley’s wind legislation to union pay, U.S. Rep. Donna Edwards offered strong support for same-sex marriage.

Gazette.net: Gov. Martin O’Malley, in promoting same-sex marriage, wants to change the long-established meaning of marriage by promoting an illusion that gender and even biological relationships don’t really matter.

LifeNews.com: Maryland woman is facing up to five years in prison after facing charges related to her giving the dangerous RU 486 abortion drug to a teenager.

The Advocate: The leaders of Maryland’s legislature seem to expect that lawmakers will pass marriage equality this year, but the Senate President warned today that passing the bill would trigger a backlash from voters who would then overturn them at the ballot box.

LifeSiteNews.com: “But fetal homicide laws would have fangs if used against abortionists,” said Americans United for Life’s Clarke Forsythe to me in a phone interview today. “Maryland’s unprecedented application to abortion has the potential to be used more broadly and must be scaring abortion proponents silly.”

News from The Associated Press: A New Jersey doctor charged with 10 counts of murder for providing late-term abortions in Maryland has agreed to return to that state to face charges.

Baltimoresun.com: Maryland’s AFL-CIO, a 300,000-member strong labor union, will back the same-sex marriage legislation, marking a key endorsement from a powerful political force in the state.

The Washington Post: Meanwhile, an expected high-profile effort to legalize same-sex marriage looms over the statehouse chambers.

PFOX has forwarded the following email:   Citizens ask Maryland State Ethics Commission to Correct “Use the Wrong Pronouns and You’re Out” Ruling by Montgomery Co. Ethics Commission   The Maryland State Ethics Commission has been asked by Maryland Citizens for Responsible Government (MCRG) …

Governor O’Malley’s Blog: Governor Martin O’Malley announced today the appointment of Robert N. (“Bob”) McDonald, the Chief Counsel of Opinions and Advice for the Office of the Attorney General, to the Court of Appeals, Maryland’s highest court.

Religion Clause: In Reaching Hearts International, Inc. v. Prince George’s County, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 146495 (D MD, Dec. 21, 2011), a Maryland federal district court ordered Prince George’s County (MD) Council to reconsider its partial denial of a water and sewer service category change for a church building that a Seventh Day Adventist organization wished to construct.

Christian Post: As the New Year approaches, Christian leaders strategizing for a showdown over the definition of marriage in Maryland say it is essential to awake “the sleeping giant” called the church to counter gay activists and preserve religious freedom.

The Washington Post: Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake (D) is promoting same-sex marriage legislation in a Web video series that is pushing for passage of the bill legislation next year in Maryland.

The Washington Post: A diverse group of Maryland religious leaders launched a coalition Wednesday that organizers vowed would steadfastly resist the legalization of same-sex marriage in the 2012 legislative session.

MarketWatch: Responding quickly to concerns that its iBoss Web Filters were blocking access to LGBT websites for employees of Montgomery County, Maryland, Phantom Technologies assures customers that its web-filtering technology is designed to function within the guidelines of the ACLU’s Don’t Filter Me campaign, which seeks to curb illegal filtering of pro-LGBT content.

Catholic Review, Nov. 10, 2011

WMAL 105.9 FM/AM 630s: Maryland’s governor is racheting up his efforts to legalize same-sex marriage. Democrat Martin O’ Malley has joined a newly-launched bipartisan effort to appeal to moderate and independent voters in the fight for same-sex marriage rights.

Delmarvanow.com: “We recognize those marriages as we do any heterosexual marriage,” said Gansler, whose office drafted the opinion leading to that decision. “The opinion we drafted has a lot less to do with same-sex marriage and a lot more to do with the full faith and credit clause.”

Delmarvanow.com: Cox is a member of the Alliance Defense Fund, a Christian-based legal network that was also involved in Schiavo’s case.

MiamiHerald.com: Attorney Daniel Cox, representing Sanger’s mother Phyllis of Colonial Beach, Va., and brother Mark of Eugene, Ore., also declined to comment. Cox is a member of the Alliance Defense Fund, a Christian-based legal network that was involved in Schiavo’s case.

ABA Journal: Sanger’s brother and mother are represented by Daniel Cox, a lawyer with the Alliance Defense Fund. Cox says Daniel Sanger told his mother he wanted to live before his health declined due to complications from a bed sore. An alliance press release says Sanger became unconscious after expressing a desire to live.

News from The Associated Press: An attorney for the wife of 55-year-old Daniel Sanger said the wife called him Wednesday morning to say her husband died overnight.

The Blog of Legal Times: President Barack Obama on Monday withdrew the nomination of a U.S. magistrate judge whom he tapped for a seat on the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland.

The Associated Press: Daniel Cox, the attorney for Mark Sanger and his mother, is a member of the Alliance Defense Fund. The Christian-based legal network says it is dedicated to protecting the sanctity of life and also was involved in Schiavo’s case.

North Country Gazette: But after six days without food and water, Sanger began responding to hospital staff and the Life & Hope Network, with the help of attorneys from the Alliance Defense Fund, obtained a court order to reinstate the food and water tube on behalf of Sanger’s mother and brother.

Wesley J. Smith at Secondhand Smoke | A First Things Blog: The ADF is at it again, at least temporarily saving the life of a man who was temporarily unconscious from a heart attack. From the ADF press release:

The Frederick News-Post Online: Cox said he was not aware of the organization’s involvement, but he said he was referred to the case by the Alliance Defense Fund. The Terri Schiavo Life & Hope Network said in the news release it is working with the Alliance Defense Fund.

NRL News Today: “Everyone deserves a chance to recover,” said ADF Legal Counsel Matt Bowman. “There is no question that Daniel expressly stated his desire to live, and yet he was denied the food and water he needed to survive. His wishes should have been followed. ADF sees far too many situations involving hasty decisions to pull the plug on a human life.”

BaltimoreSun.com: Ravens player Brendon Ayanbadejo is putting his considerable heft behind passing a gay marriage bill in Maryland and will star in a new video that will be released today pushing for the measure.

LifeNews.com: “Everyone deserves a chance to recover,” said ADF legal counsel Matt Bowman. “There is no question that Daniel expressly stated his desire to live, and yet he was denied the food and water he needed to survive. His wishes should have been followed. ADF sees far too many situations involving hasty decisions to pull the plug on a human life.” “The court has done the right thing in granting our request to have Daniel’s food and hydration restored,” said Sanger’s legal counsel Daniel Cox.

ADF-allied attorney represents Md. heart attack victim who said, ‘I want to live,’ but had food, water cut off

LifeNews.com: Matt Bowman of the Alliance Defense Fund says Judge Garbis’ ruling was a correct one. “The judge ruled that the law’s attempt to burden speech unconstitutionally discriminated against noncommercial, unlicensed speech on the explicit basis that it came from a perspective disfavoring abortion,” he said, calling it a “monumental decision protecting free speech and women’s health.

The Daily Times | delmarvanow.com: The Alliance Defense Fund, an Arizona-based group of Christian attorneys, filed a certiorari petition with the U.S. Supreme Court in May on behalf of Rock for Life-UMBC, asking the court to determine whether the students had legal standing to challenge “speech codes” governing their behavior. “We were hoping that the Supreme Court would intervene and uphold the First Amendment freedoms and allow the students to challenge the speech codes,” said Travis Barham, Alliance Defense Fund litigation counsel.

The Washington Post: Venerable talk show host Larry King, hip hop mogul Russell Simmons, ice cream icons Ben and Jerry and presidential daughter Barbara Bush all stepped forward in New York, making attention-grabbing appearances in a long-running ad campaign.

The Washington Post: Antiabortion activists who have sought for months to shut down a Germantown clinic picketed its landlord outside a Montgomery County middle school where his daughter is a student, school and police officials said Monday.

The Washington Independent: Marriage For Maryland, or Marriage4Maryland, is billed as a “resource of information and action tools to help preserve traditional marriage and protect the people’s right to be represented fairly by their legislators.” . . . Also included on the site is a brochure (PDF) produced by the Alliance Defense Fund that offers guidelines for churches and pastors for how to engage safely in political activities. However, ADF’s brochure offers a caveat, that IRS restriction on churches are unconstitutional . . . [more]

BaltimoreSun.com: The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, Article 7, states that every child has the right to know and be cared for by his or her parents. Same-sex marriage drastically erodes this basic right and the protection that authentic marriage affords to children.

LifeSiteNews.com: The astonishing story of a Maryland family with 11 children, ranging in age from 1 to 12, has been featured in a back-to-school piece by the Washington Post Newspaper. The August 10 story chronicles the Kilmer household’s day-to-day life and details how they manage to stay lighthearted and have fun while balancing what some might consider an impossibly difficult lifestyle. Read the Washington Post story here.

Bob Marshall at BaltimoreSun.com: As a Catholic legislator, I disagree with Governor O’Malley. Sexual orientation is not limited to same- or complementary-sex attractions but includes attractions to children, prostitutes, multiple wives (polygamy) dead persons (necrophilia), animals, inanimate objects, and others that could not be printed in the Baltimore Sun out of deference to readers. Does the governor believe “equal protection” and the “right of the individual” to personal “sexual orientation” ever conflict with the common social good? There is no logical reason to draw a line anywhere if he succeeds in legalizing same-sex marriage.

BaltimoreSun.com: In the days before Gov. Martin O’Malley announced his support for same-sex marriage, Archbishop Edwin F. O’Brien privately urged him against “promoting a goal that so deeply conflicts with your faith.”

LifeNews.com: The Maryland Health Department is issuing new regulations that will result in better monitoring of abortion centers in the state to ensure they are following health and safety laws.

LifeNews.com: The Germantown Reproductive Health Services abortion business that employs late-term abortion practitioner LeRoy Carhart, will close this week as hundreds of pro-life advocates from across the country participate in a week-long pro-life protest.