Gay and lesbian couples awaiting court’s decision on civil marriage

Thursday, July 12, 2007

Gay and lesbian couples awaiting court’s decision on civil marriage

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I’ve started to see the bumper stickers and yard signs from the ‘‘Marylanders for Marriage” campaign, organized by Equality Maryland. In blue and white, they say, ‘‘Civil Marriage is a Civil Right.” If you don’t know what that means, it’s a campaign to ensure equal access to the civil institution of marriage for same-sex couples in the state of Maryland.

The court decision, Conaway v. Deane & Polyak, is expected at any time. This case was brought by nine, same-sex couples in Maryland and one recent widower, who all are represented by the American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland.

The plaintiffs seek equal access to state-recognized marriage rights in Maryland. If the highest court rules on our behalf, Maryland will be the second state in the union to grant equal access to state-recognized marriage for gay and lesbian couples. (Massachusetts is the first state to recognize marriage for gay and lesbian couples.)

There is a lot at stake for the gay and lesbian community in the court decision and for people like me and my partner of 11 years. The right to inherit property without adverse and unfair taxation, the right to determine burial procedures, the right to be fairly taxed by the state. In fact, there are literally hundreds of rights in the state of Maryland that emanate from having a validly recognized marriage. Moreover, there are over a thousand rights on a federal level for recognized marriages.

More than a court decision, however, what we, gay and lesbian couples, need is the support of our friends and neighbors in Maryland. The realities of what we lose by not having access to civil marriage, while sometimes heartbreaking, is something that most gay and lesbian people are happy to discuss with family, friends, and acquaintances. In addition, there is more information about the issues of civil marriage and the case Conaway v. Deane & Polyak at the Web site for the ACLU of Maryland (www.aclu-md.org).

If you support marriage equality, put up a yard sign or put a bumper sticker on your car to share your support. Visibility and the opportunity to dialogue about what’s at stake for gay and lesbian people with civil marriage is essential.

The other week, we celebrated the 40th anniversary of the Loving v. Virginia, the decision by the U.S. Supreme Court that ended miscegenation laws and ensured that Americans could marry who they chose and love without regard to race. I hope that in my lifetime I’ll be celebrating a similar milestone for gay and lesbian couples and that Maryland will have been an important marker along the road to equality.

Julie R. Enszer, University Park