And yet more news, good and bad...
Md. AG considers recognizing gay marriages:
Maryland Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler is looking into whether the state can recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states, and his office plans to issue an opinion in the coming weeks.
State law defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman, but Maryland also sticks to a long-standing legal principle that generally acknowledges couples married elsewhere.
Gansler, a Democrat, supports gay marriage. While Maryland has extended a variety of protections to same-sex couples in recent years, it has stopped short of legalizing marriages or civil unions. Gov. Martin O'Malley, also a Democrat, supports the latter.
- Chicago
Tribune;
Duane: Same-sex marriage bill will pass this session:
Sen. Thomas Duane, standing in front of a crowd of same-sex couples in The Well of the Legislative Office Building this afternoon, said the bill to legalize same-sex marriage in New York would be coming to the floor this session, and furthermore, it has the votes necessary to pass.
- Legislative Gazzette, NY;
Petitioners begin seeking signatures to repeal gay marriage:
PLYMOUTH, Maine — The race to get enough signatures to put a question on the ballot that would ask voters to repeal the same-sex marriage bill passed by the Maine State Legislature and signed into law by Gov. John Baldacci on May 6 began in earnest this week.
- Bangor
Daily News - which led to
Homosexual Group Challenges Tax-Exempt Status of Catholic Church in Maine for Opposing Same-Sex :
A homosexualist group is seeking to strip the Catholic Diocese of Portland of its tax-exempt status, after the diocese announced it would gather support for a voter's referendum on the new same-sex "marriage" law.
- LifeSiteNews via Tips-Q;
RHODE ISLAND RESIDENTS FAVOR SAME-SEX: State could be next to pass law.:
While the pendulum on same-sex marriage swings back and forth in California, a survey suggests more than sixty percent of the voters in Rhode Island favor a law allowing gay marriage in their state.
A Brown University poll released last week shows 60 percent of registered voters in the state would vote for a same-sex marriage state referendum if it was put to a vote. Only thirty-one percent of registered voters said they were opposed.
Legislators could legalize gay marriage in the state if a bill now before the state House and Senate is approved.
EurWeb.com; and finally,
Same-sex marriage issue on Pa. stage:
Over the past two weeks, dueling same-sex marriage proposals in the state legislature have pushed the issue back to the forefront.
State Sen. John Eichelberger, R-30, two weeks ago announced plans to introduce a bill amending the state Constitution to ban same-sex marriage.
This week, state Sen. Daylin Leach, D-17, said he plans to introduce legislation offering “full and equal marriage rights” to same-sex couples.
Same-sex marriage in Pennsylvania is banned by statute, which could be overturned by the legislature. Previous proposals to either outlaw it constitutionally or legalize it have fallen short.
