Winter 2006: Progress in Maryland

Maryland

The Deane & Polyak plaintiffs

In January, the Maryland Circuit Court rules in favor of same-sex couples in Deane & Polyak v. Conaway.

In a concise decision, the judge rules that denying marriage on the basis of gender is unconstitutional sex discrimination that violates the state’s Equal Rights Amendment. She applies both strict scrutiny and rational basis review and determines that such discrimination is not supported under either standard. And she makes a point of refuting the opposite finding in Washington State’s Singer case from 1974. She writes that it was “logically impossible” for the Singer court to hold that the gender of the Singer couple was not the issue (but rather the issue was the supposed definition of marriage requiring a man and woman) while at the same time holding that their genders prevented them from marrying each other.

The Maryland court’s order is stayed pending appeal to the state’s high court.

Massachusetts

But in March, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court confirms the lower court ruling in Cote-Whitacre v. DPH. The case, filed in 2004, sought the right for out-of-state same-sex couples to marry in Massachusetts. The court rules against most of the couples, saying that, since their states prohibit them from marrying, it’s only right that Massachusetts does so as well. Except – that the couples from New York and Rhode Island might have a case since their states’ laws don’t explicitly say same-sex couples can’t marry. It sends those couples back to the lower court for a final determination.

Timeline key: progress (green), no progress (red), pending court cases (purple),
events that are neutral, not directly related, or with both positive and negative effects (black)