More Movement on the Marriage Equality Front

It’s been a good few days on the marriage equality front. Same-sex couples in Washington D.C., began applying for marriage licenses on March 3, while a week earlier Maryland’s attorney general issued a legal opinion stating that marriages of same-sex couples validly entered into in other jurisdictions may be recognized by state agencies.

In D.C., same-sex couples began lining up to apply for marriage licenses on Wednesday, when the Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Equality Amendment Act took effect. The measure was passed this fall by an overwhelming majority of the D.C. Council before Mayor Adrian Fenty signed the measure into law in mid-December. D.C. joins Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont, Iowa and New Hampshire in extending full marriage equality to same-sex couples.

Rea Carey at Creating Change 2010

“This is a profoundly moving moment for many D.C. same-sex couples and their families. To finally be able to share and celebrate one’s love and commitment both publicly and legally is a lifelong dream for many,” said Rea Carey, executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, adding, “Until you have walked in the shoes of someone who has been denied the right to exercise such a fundamental freedom, it is hard to comprehend the emotional depth and significance of this experience for so many couples in Washington, D.C.” Read her full comments here.

(Left to right) Task Force board member Hans Johnson and then-board member Jerry Clark with D.C. Mayor Fenty and Task Force Deputy Executive Director Darlene Nipper just after the mayor signed D.C.’s marriage equality bill in December 2009.

In Maryland, meanwhile, Attorney General Doug Gansler issued a legal opinion that states that marriages of same-sex couples validly entered into in other jurisdictions may be honored and recognized by state agencies.

“This opinion affirms the dignity of marriages of same-sex couples performed in other jurisdictions. While the opinion doesn’t change current Maryland law, it states that same-sex marriages performed out-of-state may be honored at home by various Maryland state agencies,” said Carey. “We thank the attorney general for his important opinion and urge state agencies to take steps immediately to honor the legal marriages of these same-sex couples.” Read Carey’s full remarks here.