Tag Archives: State: Maryland

One News Now: “In a rare move, the president of the University of Maryland chose to go against the vote of the university senate and retain prayer as part of the school’s annual commencement ceremonies.”

Baltimore Sun: “A judge has struck down a 2005 Maryland law that would have let a former state senator’s Prince George’s County strip club stay open while others closed.”

Baltimore Sun: “The Maryland Senate voted Tuesday to exempt domestic partners who jointly own homes from inheritance taxes after one of them dies.”

Keith Pavlischek writes at First Things:
More from the ‘you-can’t-make-this-up’ file . . . administrators cancelled a screening of the movie scheduled for last Saturday night. But then, as the Post reported in Tuesday’s article, “At U-Md., XXX-Rated Show Goes On,” a few students (including those associated with something called the Student Power Party), professors, and local ACLU agitators, outraged at this assault on free speech, took matters into their own hands and showed excerpts from the movie on Monday night . . .

Meanwhile, on the same page of the same section of the same newspaper is the article, “U-Md. Senate Votes to Eliminate Invocation” . . .

Baltimore Sun: “Although not condoning this movie or any excerpts from it that might be shown, the University of Maryland must allow this event, but has insisted that it include an educational component.”

The Capital: “Neighbors of the mega-mall in Hanover repeated their arguments against changing county laws to permit the casino: Homes are too close, traffic will worsen on nearby streets, and crime rates are likely to rise with gambling in the neighborhood.”

The Blog of LegalTimes reports: “A federal judge in Maryland yesterday struck down a state statute meant to ban strip clubs, finding it would place unconstitutional limits on free speech while violating the 14th Amendment’s guarantee of equal protection.”

Baltimore Sun: “Maryland lawmakers know pornography when they see it, and they know how to stop it: by threatening to halt funding to the state’s flagship public university. Civil liberties groups criticized Thursday a decision by the University of Maryland to cancel a campus screening of what is billed as the most expensive adult film ever made.”

Ruth M. Jacobs writes at Gazette.Net:
“Changes to Maryland’s anti-discrimination law in 2007 added a “private cause of action.” If gender identity is added as a “protected class,” any cross-dresser or “drag queen” who wants to dress on the job and feels their rights have been denied can sue their employer. Employers already rocked by the economic crisis now have to worry about lawsuits from their employees for failure to deny their birth sex, use the right pronoun or for trying to protect the safety of women in restrooms. Employees would be empowered to sue for damages up to $400,000 plus punitive damages and operators of public accommodations can be heavily fined for simply trying to protect women and children’s safety and privacy rights.

At this critical time for Maryland’s economy, shouldn’t legislators be helping employers instead of endangering them?”

Christian Newswire: “Jesuit-run Georgetown University promoted ‘Sex Positivity’ week on campus from February 24-February 28, 2009. Condoning sexual misconduct and deviance places undergraduate students, many of whom are still legally considered to be minors, in a potentially predatory and psychologically abusive environment.”

The Capital reports: Despite slim prospects of success this year, the movement to permit gay marriage in Maryland continues to draw high-profile support . . . Maryland Attorney General Douglas Gansler . . .

Washington Times:”Maryland lawmakers took up the issue of gay marriage for the second consecutive day Thursday, with supporters asserting marriage is a civil right and opponents arguing that allowing such unions constitutes a grave threat to traditional family values . . . ”

Ed Whelan reports on National Review Bench Memos about the rumored nomination of the Hon. Andre Davis to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.

Over the past ten years, at least nine other state and federal courts (excluding cases still pending on appeal) have ruled that marriage laws are not discriminatory, but have a rational basis in “responsible procreation.”

Mat Tunehag has this post on the Varlden Idag discussing some of the absurdities of state regulation of abortion in Maryland and Sweden.

CNA: ”The 30th Annual Maryland March for Life will take place on Monday, March 9, organizers have announced, saying they want to rally support after pro-life defeats in the Maryland legislature and in the nomination of pro-abortion rights Kansas Gov. Kathleen …

WJZ:  ”Maryland Senate panel is scheduled to hear testimony on a measure that would prohibit discrimination against transgender people . . . Read Senate Bill 566: http://mlis.state.md.us/2009rs/billfile/SB0566.htm“

David Hudson, Jr. writes at the First Amendment Center:  ”In its Feb. 27 ruling in Independent Newspapers Inc. v. Brodie, the Maryland Court of Appeals said those who file libel suits against unknown online posters must establish a prima facie, or basic, …

. . . New Hampshire’s state motto is ‘Live Free or Die.’ But is New Hampshire the most free place to live in the United States? Apparently it is, according to a new study, Freedom in the 50 States: An Index of Personal and Economic Freedom . . .

How Appealing links to the opinion and several reports: “Maryland’s Court of Appeals issued a decision yesterday protecting the identity of three anonymous Internet posters and, for the first time, offering guidelines for state courts to follow in libel cases …

LifeSiteNews: “The Maryland House of Delegates has unanimously approved a proposal to require ‘parental consent’ for tattoos and body piercings done on minors. However, the state still only requires that one parent be notified that a minor is going to …

FRC Washington Update: “Maryland’s state legislature is now considering bills that would extend ‘non-discrimination’ protections in employment, housing, and public accommodations to transsexuals, transvestites, and other cross-dressers. The expansive definition of ‘gender identity’ in the bill would allow people to …

Baltimore Sun: “Delly owner Ted Levitt said he started leading patrons in the pledge every morning after discovering his children didn’t recite it in elementary school because officials feared the ‘one nation, under God’ line could offend or exclude some …

The Cumberland Times-News reports: “A Republican lawmaker from Anne Arundel County is building support for a Personhood Amendment to the state Constitution and plans to introduce a bill “to a somewhat reluctant legislature” as soon as next week . . …

The Baltimore Sun: A new wrinkle in the death penalty debate emerged in the General Assembly yesterday when a state senator said he would vote to move a repeal bill out of the committee where it has been bottled up …

Boston Globe: “The first openly gay bishop in the U.S. Episcopal Church led a prayer in the Maryland Senate Monday night in which he asked God to bless the legislators with ‘anger at discrimination in all its forms.’”

Delmarva Now: The town took its first step toward restricting adult entertainment businesses at Monday’s meeting of the mayor and council . . . Under the proposed law, which can be commented on during a public hearing Feb. 23, a …

The first section of this essay discusses how the constant use of the term, “same-sex marriage,” by advocates and opponents alike, seems to have convinced each majority or plurality that the plaintiffs were not seeking recognition of their fundamental right to marry, but instead were seeking a new fundamental right to “same-sex marriage.” By framing the question so narrowly, rather than asking whether the fundamental right to marry is violated by refusing to allow individuals in same-sex couples to marry, the courts err when analyzing these bans. Since they do not believe that “a right to same-sex marriage” can be seen as fundamental, they deny each individual in a same-sex couple the opportunity to marry the one person he or she chooses to marry.

Citizen Link: “Legislation sitting in the Maryland House would require doctors to provide terminally ill patients who wish to die with information from groups that advocate physician-assisted suicide . . . ” Wesley Smith writing at Second Hand Smoke: Maryland …

Although Maryland Republicans frequently lament any time the state’s actions mirror California’s, Del. Don Dwyer hopes Annapolis follows the West Coast on the gay marriage issue this legislative session.

The Court of Appeals issued the 63-page opinion after ruling in September that a referendum proposed by a conservative group seeking to overturn the county’s new law that bans discrimination against transgendered people could not go on the Nov. 4 ballot.

The Baltimore Sun reports: The Court of Appeals decided yesterday to reduce vacation days for judges and allow them to buy back leave time, a cost-saving plan that some judges grudgingly backed amid concerns that it would burden those in …

The Baltimore Sun reports: “At a time when state workers are being furloughed and face possible layoffs, Maryland judges would get a pay raise of nearly $40,000 over the next four years under a plan hatched by an influential commission …

DelmarvaNow.com reports: “The mayor and council are expected to decide tonight whether to extend a moratorium that bans adult book shops within town limits . . . “

The Baltimore Sun: Baltimore will act as host to the 2009 World Stem Cell Summit, solidifying its position as one of the nation’s foremost crucibles for bioscience research, officials said today. The summit, to be held over three days in …

OnlineCasinoAdvisory.com reports: “Maryland’s legalization of slots at horse tracks has caused consternation in Delaware, whose race tracks draw heavily from the neighboring state. Some politicians want to fight back by using the state’s unusual ability to host sports gambling.  Delaware …

DiamondbackOnline reports that next week the U. of Maryland SGA will debate a proposal that recommends marriage redefinition.

The Religion Clause Blog reports that some residents are urging the the County to reject a proposed settlement to permit Riverdale Baptist Church to construct an expanded campus for its Arundel Bay Christian Academy.

“In three of the states – New York, New Jersey and New Hampshire -LGBT rights groups say there is a strong indication they will be passed . . . Two other states also are likely to have marriage equality bills: Rhode Island and Maryland . . .”

ALLIANCE DEFENSE FUND MEDIA ADVISORY October 30, 2008 – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT ADF MEDIA RELATIONS: (480) 444-0020 or www.telladf.org/pressroom ADF attorneys available to media after hearing on Md. voters’ rights Montgomery County voters ask court to give back their …

The Carroll County Tims reports: An anti-abortion group has filed a lawsuit against the city of Westminster in federal court, alleging the city violated the group’s right to free speech by requiring a permit to protest on public property. The …

Alliance Defense Fund attorneys and allied attorneys filed a lawsuit Thursday against the city of Westminster on behalf of pro-life organization Defend Life.

WorldNetDaily reports:  A county in Maryland has agreed to halt enforcement of a sign ordinance cited when members of a team of pro-life protesters were arrested, shackled and strip-searched while expressing their opposition to abortion. According to a statement from …

Leonard Link reports: “Finding that ‘exceptional circumstances’ had been established in the case of a lesbian co-parent seeking visitation with the child borne by her former partner during their relationship, Baltimore Circuit Judge Lawrence R. Daniels ruled on October 7 …

A federal judge approved an agreement Friday that prohibits Harford County from enforcing a permit requirement for hand-held signs which Alliance Defense Fund attorneys and allied attorneys are challenging in court

The Baltimore Sun reports: The Love Craft adult video store in North Laurel violates zoning laws and must close or move, Howard County officials say, though they expect a prolonged legal battle over the issue. The county recently lost a …

The Maryland Gazette has this report on the debate over proposed Maryland slots that also discusses ADF’s Pulpit Initiative.  The report indicates: . . . But what made this speech particularly compelling was that the voice behind it, the Bishop …

The Washington Post reports: “The lawsuit filed in Montgomery County Circuit Court this week by opponents of new transgender protections asks the court to block the law from taking effect until residents have an opportunity to vote on the measure.” …

ADF attorneys file new suit to keep Montgomery County Election Board from disenfranchising 900,000 voters before Nov. 4 election.

WorldNetDaily reports: Maryland’s highest court has endorsed Montgomery County’s plans for coed restrooms and showers, concluding that a challenge to the new law had to fail because there were not enough signatures on the referendum petitions to represent dead voters …

The Washington Post carries this report on the Maryland High Court ruling that prohibits the people from voting on Montgomery count’s transgender law.  For related posts, click the Maryland tag below.

Alliance Defense Fund attorneys will be available for media interviews following a hearing Monday in Doe v. Montgomery County Board of Elections. Groups advocating the creation of special legal rights for the sexually confused appealed a July 24 court decision that gave more than 900,000 voters the right to be heard on a controversial “gender identity” bill.

Three young women who were arrested and strip-searched last month while rallying against abortion have filed a federal lawsuit against Harford County, Bel Air and state police, charging their First Amendment rights were violated.

Alliance Defense Fund and allied attorneys filed a lawsuit Wednesday against Harford County, the town of Bel Air, and seven police officials on behalf of three young, pro-life women.

The Washington Post reports: “A former Marine was fatally shot late Thursday while working as a bouncer outside a Hyattsville strip club, Prince George’s County police said yesterday . . . Police initially said it appeared that Barron, who was …

ExploreHoward.com reports: The sign outside the Pack Shack might advertise adult videos in large letters, but in the eyes of the county, the controversial business no longer qualifies as an “adult” store. As a result, a decade-long effort by the …

Gazette.net carries this letter to the editor by Robert McDermott. It points out media bias in a report involving the battle over a transgender law in Maryland. Mr. McDermott begins: Poor reporting is demonstrated in the description of the transgender …

The Baltimore Sun reports: In the first few years of Maryland’s experiment with charter schools, Baltimore led the way with an explosion of new schools of all varieties. More slowly and cautiously, county districts are following the city’s lead, allowing …

Maryland’s highest court has agreed to hear a case involving a referendum on Montgomery County’s new transgender law.

Lawyers for the Alliance Defense Fund Center for Academic Freedom filed a suit on behalf of Rock of Life after the university insisted the student group relocate its pro-life displays to less prominent areas of campus.

University of Maryland-Baltimore County officials agreed Friday to modify their unconstitutional “speech code” and “speech zone” policies that restricted a pro-life student group from sharing its message on campus.

Alliance Defense Fund Senior Legal Counsel Steven H. Aden will be available for media interviews following his arguments in federal court Friday in Rock for Life v. Hrabowski. Attorneys with the ADF Center for Academic Freedom represent Rock for Life, a student pro-life group that claims officials at the University of Maryland-Baltimore County invoked “speech code” and “speech zone” policies to deny it the same access to highly visited areas of campus that other student groups enjoy because they found Rock for Life’s message offensive.

LifeSiteNews.com reports: “Eighteen pro-lifers participating in the Maryland Face the Truth Tour were arrested without warning by Hartford County State Troopers in the city of Bel Air, Maryland on Friday, August 1, 2008.”

The Examiner.com reports: “Religious conservatives are hoping a referendum on a Montgomery County law protecting transgender people could become a template to repeal similar measures across the country.”

OneNewsNow.com reports: Voters in Montgomery County, Maryland – not members of the county board – will have the final say in whether all references to gender should be removed from the county’s laws . . . Austin Nimocks, senior counsel …

The Washington Post reports: A Montgomery County judge cleared the way yesterday for voters to decide in November whether to keep a new anti-discrimination law that provides broad protections for transgender individuals . . . The case has attracted national …

Alliance Defense Fund attorneys representing the citizen voter coalition Maryland Citizens for Responsible Government helped secure a favorable ruling from a Maryland court Thursday, giving 900,000 Montgomery County voters their right to be heard on their petition against a “gender identity” bill.

The AP reports that the ACLU is suing Elkton, Maryland on behalf of a church that claims the town has blocked its efforts to open a day center for the homeless.

Religion Clause Blog reports: “In Baltimore, Maryland yesterday, developer David Moxley filed a lawsuit in federal court challenging the decision of the Walkersville (MD) Board of Zoning Appeals to deny a special exception to land use restrictions sought by the …

OneNewsNow.com reports: Homosexual activists are trying to stop the residents of one Maryland county from voting on a controversial “gender identity” bill. After the Montgomery County, Maryland, council enacted the ordinance, local residents began collecting petition signatures to hold a …

Arguments have been submitted to Maryland’s courts urging judges to allow the estimated 900,000 voters in Montgomery County to decide whether they want to install in their laws special new protections for individuals claiming “gender identity” issues.

Examiner.com reports: “A man is responsible for child support even though a paternity test proved he is not the father of a child born during his marriage, Maryland’s second-highest court has ruled.”

ttorneys with the Alliance Defense Fund filed a friend-of-the-court brief Monday asking a Maryland court to protect the valid petition signatures of Montgomery County voters. Representing a citizen voter coalition, ADF attorneys are arguing against a lawsuit filed by a group of self-described homosexual and transsexual plaintiffs that seeks to disenfranchise over 900,000 Montgomery County residents from having their say on a controversial “gender identity” bill.

“Gov. Martin O’Malley signed two bills to bring some of the rights married couples have to unmarried couples — including gay couples — along with measures related to health and support for Maryland veterans.”

Now, one congregation’s plan to place a 16-foot cross on a new building at the town’s oldest interfaith center in Wilde Lake Village has stirred an anxious response. Some guardians of local tradition see the cross as a challenge to the core values of Columbia . . .