MD Senate To Weigh Block On Gay Marriage Opinion
Bill would prohibit state from recognizing gay marriages
Updated 12:15 AM EDT, Thu, Mar 11, 2010
A Maryland state senator has introduced a bill to prohibit the state from recognizing gay marriages performed elsewhere.
Sen. Nancy Jacobs (R-Harford) introduced the bill on Wednesday. It's the first step towards invalidating a recent opinion from Maryland Attorney General Doug Gansler.
Last month, Gansler wrote that state agencies must recognize out-of-state gay marriages, until the courts or the legislature decides otherwise.
The attorney general's opinion is not itself a law, but it does guide state agencies, and it may be persuasive to the higher courts.
In recent years, the state has decided to extend a variety of protections to same-sex couples, but it has stopped short of legalizing marriages of civil unions.
Maryland law currently defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman.
Copyright Associated Press / NBC Washington
First Published: Mar 10, 2010 7:14 PM EDT
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