A victory, if only for awhile

Marriage solely between a man and woman is safe in Maryland, at least for now.

If you believe House Speaker Michael Busch (and the Washington Post), the measure is dead for this term as supporters couldn’t convince 71 Delegates (a majority in the 141-seat body) to say yes to SB116. Two amendments were voted down today before Del. Joseph Vallario, Jr. asked the bill be recommitted to the Judiciary Committee. With all the angst in getting the bill to the point where it was, including sharply divided Senate and House committee votes, spending more time on what would likely be a losing cause apparently seemed pointless to Busch. Vallario likely didn’t want to go through another divisive committee vote, either.

The Baltimore Sun has additional commentary, with impassioned reaction from both sides of their readership – predictable wailing and gnashing of teeth from gay rights advocates and relieved but wary platitudes from those who feel marriage should remain as is.

It’s a tough day for our local leftists today – losing their blog and their cherished gay marriage bill in the span of 24 hours.

But now the General Assembly can get down to a key issue on its plate: fixing the state’s budget.

Author: Michael

It's me from my laptop computer.