The Maryland Court of Appeals, in its opinion, identified nearly 340 Maryland laws that provide for benefits and rights conditioned on marital status.
Equality Maryland, in a separate report, has identified 425 Maryland statutes that rely on the definition of marriage or a legally recognized family relationship, including the right to make burial decisions, mutual responsibility for debts, the right to file joint income taxes and protections for children.
Seeking equality
It is unclear which rights and benefits would be included in the alternative bill and what the same-sex relationships would be called, if anything. Raskin said some suggestions that have been floated are domestic or household partners and mutual or reciprocal beneficiaries.
He added that it would be impractical to write a bill that listed all rights and benefits of marriage. As a supporter of same-sex marriage who has taken a lead in crafting the compromise, Raskin said he would prefer a straightforward measure stating that the rights and obligations that apply to married individuals also apply to same-sex couples.
"There's a simplicity to equality," he said.
laura.smitherman@baltsun.com
