State Laws

Gay Marriage Laws in Maine

In Maine,
gay marriage is not currently legal. Although a bill was passed in April 2009,
that would have legalized gay marriage, the bill was overturned. However,
domestic partnership is legal in Maine. While Maine has enacted the Defense of
Marriage Act, a state constitutional amendment that would have banned gay
marriage failed to pass. However, registering as domestic partners, remains
legal.

In Maine, marriage is defined as a union between an opposite sex couple.
However, gay marriage was briefly legalized in Maine. A bill was signed into
law in 2009 that would have approved the right to gay marriage in Maine.Marriages
were never performed however, because a referendum on the bill was lost. After
the Senate and House of Representatives approved the bill, the governor signed
it into law.

In fact, Maine was the first state to sign such a bill into law
with out a court decision that forced them to do so. However, the citizens of
the state collected signatures to force a referendum in Maine. Gay marriages
were not to be legally allowed in Maine because the bill was overturned during
a vote by the public.

However, Maine’s Domestic partnership laws still allow for some legal
recognition of same sex relationships. In Maine, marriages afford couples many
more rights than domestic partnerships do. However, domestic partnerships at
least allow for some rights normally reserved for marriages. In Maine, gay
couples that register as domestic partners, are considered to be the closest
next of kin for their partner.

In addition, partners can be inherit property in
the absence of a will and may make all funeral arrangements. In Maine, gay couples
can also be named as health care representatives, thereby being legally able to
make medical decisions, including issues relating to organ transplants. In
addition, In Maine, marriages and domestic partnerships entitled individuals to
protection under the domestic violence laws of the state.

In Maine, gay marriage is still illegal. However, couples can register as
domestic partners after living together in Maine for one full year. In Maine,
marriage creates an inability for an individual to register as a domestic
partner. In addition, couples cannot legally be a part of more than one
domestic partnership. Domestic partnerships can be made void by either parties
consent, as long as the other person is properly notified.

In addition,
domestic partnerships are automatically void if either party gets married. In
essence, domestic partnerships in Maine can provide rights and responsibilities
to same sex couples, that are not afforded by other states. Maine is obviously
aiming to create a state with equal rights for all citizens.

Gay Marriage Laws in Maryland

While small steps are indeed being taken to recognize same sex partnerships in the state of Maryland, marriage for homosexual couples is still not considered legal by law. According to the 1973 Maryland Family Law, Section 2-201- one of the first state laws of it’s kind to actually define marriage, in the state of Maryland, marriage unions are only valid if performed between a man and a woman.

And although this 37-year old Maryland marriage law has been strongly upheld by the Maryland Court of Appeals, Maryland gay marriage supporters have been putting up a fight to have the Maryland marriage laws altered to include homosexual couples.

On July 4, 2004, for instance, a lawsuit by the name of Dean & Polyak v. Conaway was filed on behalf of nine same-sex couples and a recently widowed gay partner by the American Civil Liberties Union. The lawsuit sought to have Maryland gay unions legalized within the state. While the Court of Appeals acknowledged that marriage is a fundamental right, it argued that in Maryland, gay marriage between same-sex partners is not fundamental.

In a 4 to 3 decision, the high court rejected the arguments presented by the plaintiffs of the ACLU, which stressed that denying same-sex couples the right to marry is sex discrimination. On September 18, 2007, in a devastating upset, the court asserted that the Maryland marriage law does not deny Maryland gay couples their constitutional rights, and it was officially decided that the legal ban on same-sex marriage would remain in place.

Despite the setback, Maryland gay marriage supporters and equality activists continue to rally against this ban, waiting for Maryland marriage laws to include homosexuals like many other states. In the meantime, however, the General Assembly has passed two bills which create at least some form of domestic partnership in the state.

Although weak, very limited, and void of the rights to health care and tax benefits which heterosexual couples are allowed to enjoy, this legislation, which became effective in July 2008, includes 11 protections for domestic partners. For example, it allows for hospital visitation and the right to make funeral arrangements for each partners. It’s a seemingly small step in the greater movement to win complete marital rights, but at least it’s a start.

In a more recent development for the Maryland gay community, Douglas F. Gansler, the Attorney General of Maryland, has said that same-sex marriages performed in other states will be recognized until the state’s General Assembly or high courts specify otherwise. This February 2010 statement has yet to be determined.