Maryland legislators who voted for DOMA now part of effort to repeal it

It's now part of the accepted narrative on same-sex marriage in this country that many long-serving politicians, particularly Democrats, have "evolved" on the issue over the last two decades -- mostly following their constituencies toward greater support for gay couples.

President Barack Obama did it. Bill and Hillary Clinton did, too. And, so did several Maryland legislators -- as we were reminded once again Tuesday, when companion Senate and House bills were filed in Congress to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act.

That law banned federal recognition of same-sex marriages in 1996, at a time when legislators felt increasing pressure to put a federal restriction on marriages as being between a man and a woman. Marriage law is widely considered a state issue, but calls for federal action had begun to heat up at the time as the still-remote possibility of states passing same-sex marriage laws began to gain a foothold.

Same-sex marriage was legalized in Maryland and upheld by voters in 2012. The U.S. Supreme Court struck down a key provision of DOMA in 2013, but other parts of the law remain. Subsequent lower court rulings overturning state bans on same-sex marriages since have brought about a huge shift this year in the country, where such marriages are now legal in 36 states and the District of Columbia. The Supreme Court could very well take up the issue of same-sex marriage again soon.

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