Same-Sex Marriage in the Dock

The Maryland Court of Appeals, the highest court in the state, will hear oral arguments in Conaway v. Dean and Polyak, the same-sex marriage case at 10am on Monday. You can hear the argument live or after it all happens on the Court of Appeals website. Earlier this year, Baltimore Circuit Court Judge M. Brooker Murdock ruled that the Maryland Constitution requires the state to allow same-sex marriages. The Court of Appeals will decide later this year if her decision stands and if same-sex couples can get married in the Free State.

If the Court of Appeals upholds the decision, it will not be easy to reverse. Amending the Constitution requires the support of 60 percent of the total membership of the House of Delegates and the Senate before the amendment can before the voters. Moreover, another three years would pass before state legislators faced the electorate again. The experience of Massachusetts suggests that support for same-sex marriage will rise as most Marylanders discover that allowing it has no negative impact on their marriages or lives.