Maryland should endorse equality

The campaign for marriage equality in Maryland won an important victory on Tuesday when a joint panel of the Maryland legislature approved a bill that would legalize same-sex marriage in the state. Governor O'Malley's bill, if passed in the full House and Senate, will make Maryland the eighth state to legalize gay marriage.
This page applauds Governor O'Malley for his efforts in spearheading this long-overdue bill and urges the Maryland General Assembly to pass it without delay.
 For the first time in the fight for marriage equality, a majority of Marylanders support this legislation, while about 44 percent oppose it. Echoing national sentiment, Maryland residents have realized that prohibiting same-sex couples from marrying is antiquated and ought to be overturned. Their embrace of marriage equality is both well-founded and practical
This page holds strongly that two people who wish to marry should be allowed to marry, regardless of their sexual preference. It is nobody's business to withhold from them this necessary right and to continue to do so is only deleterious to society. Allowing same-sex couples to marry will afford them the many benefits that marriage now brings to heterosexual couples, such as hospital visitation, taxation and inheritance rights, as well as access to family health coverage.
 In addition, same-sex marriage will bring to the state of Maryland and the city of Baltimore much needed financial relief. Because marriage license sales and income taxes will increase with an increase in newly married couples, so too will the economy benefits.
In Maryland, it is estimated that extending rights to same-sex couples will bring upwards of $3 million a year. With Maryland's budget shortfall hovering around $1 billion and Baltimore's exceeding $100 million, legalizing gay marriage is an opportunity for economic gain that ought not be passed up.
As a legislative body elected to serve the state of Maryland, the General Assembly must act to ensure that the demands of its constituents are met. Maryland has spoken. It's time for the elected officials to listen.
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