Results announced same day lawmakers offer bill to legalize same-sex marriage
On the same day lawmakers are set to introduce a bill legalizing same-sex marriage, a new poll shows a majority of Marylanders support extending rights for same-sex couples.
Advocates of gay marriage predict more success with the measure this year, thanks to a realignment of key committees that make it more likely there will be a vote on the Senate floor.
According to Annapolis-based pollster Gonzales Research, 51 percent of Maryland residents support gay marriage. Endorsements break down along party lines, with 65 percent of Democrats and 52 percent of independents favoring same-sex marriage, while only 24 percent of Republicans back the concept. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percent.
GO HERE to read more.
Advocates of gay marriage predict more success with the measure this year, thanks to a realignment of key committees that make it more likely there will be a vote on the Senate floor.
According to Annapolis-based pollster Gonzales Research, 51 percent of Maryland residents support gay marriage. Endorsements break down along party lines, with 65 percent of Democrats and 52 percent of independents favoring same-sex marriage, while only 24 percent of Republicans back the concept. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percent.
GO HERE to read more.
2 comments:
Proud to live in a state that will take a lead in the right side of history.
Population of Maryland: 5,699,478 (2009 est.)
Number of people polled in Maryland: asked opinions from 802 registered voters across the state
Wonder how many of the 5,698,676 other people in the state feel that way?
Anything is possible but I wouldn't hold my breath.
MARYLAND
•Current law: The first state law defining marriage as a union between a man and woman was adopted by Maryland in 1973.
Thirty-nine states already prohibit gay and lesbian couples from marrying with laws modeled after the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). Passed by Congress in 1996, the federal DOMA bars federal recognition of same-sex marriages and allows states to ignore gay marriages performed elsewhere. Four states (Maryland, New Hampshire, Wisconsin and Wyoming) have laws or court rulings prohibiting same-sex marriage that predate the federal DOMA.
In addition, high courts in three states — Maryland (2007), New York (2006) and Washington state (2006) — already have ruled against gay couples’ claims that matrimony is a state constitutional right.
But high courts in Maryland (2007), New York (2006) and Washington state (2006) have taken the opposite position, ruling against gay couples’ claims that matrimony is a state right. Two other courts, New Jersey (2006) and Vermont (1999), ruled that same-sex couples have the right to the benefits of marriage, but not the title.
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