Question

Nearly 40 minutes into a panel discussion about Question 6, the Maryland referendum on same-sex marriage, the Rev. Robert Anderson of Colonial Baptist Church in Randallstown is about to wrap up his contribution to our understanding of what the Bible says about homosexuality. Of course, he reaches for Leviticus, 18:22. "You know what that says," Anderson tells the audience at Manna Bible Baptist Church in northwest Baltimore. "That a man is not to lay down with another man. If they do that, it's an abomination.

PLUGGING HOLES in Maryland's constitution is an on-going process. Six sensible amendments are on the Nov. 5 ballot.QUESTION NO. 1 seeks to give public members greater say in deciding if judges should be disciplined for misbehavior. The amendment adds four public members (for a total of five) and a third lawyer member while cutting the number of judges on the Commission on Judicial Disabilities from four to three.These steps should give the panel better balance in assessing allegations against judges, making the group less of a legal insiders' club.

At considerable taxpayer expense, Gov. Martin O'Malley convened a special session of the General Assembly last month to expand gambling to a sixth site in Prince George's County. If his proposal is approved by the voters in November, this legislation will result in no real financial gain to the citizens of Maryland, oversaturate the state with casinos, and seriously jeopardize the revenue that state and local governments are receiving from operations at the current casino sites. Question 7, as it is known, also sends a pernicious message to potential investors that the state of Maryland is an unreliable business partner.

PHILADELPHIA - They come in droves to the woman with the brightly colored scarf around her neck with question after question. Questions that, when you get right down to it, are about their own lives. Some she can answer, and some she cannot. What is the secret to aging well? To her amazing productivity? Does she despair for the human race? At 84, acclaimed author Doris Lessing is treated as a wise woman, a shaman, a kind of tribal elder. In response to that last question, she said: "We're very resourceful and strong as a race.

Amid a $50 million media blitz to convince Marylanders to vote for or against a proposed gambling expansion, something unprecedented happened this week: One of the Question 7 TV ads was actually amusing. Gone were the stock scary music and grainy images. There were no teachers averring that they would either be helped or hurt by a sixth casino and table games. No images of articles ripped out of newspapers to back up one side or the other. The ad was nothing more than Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake standing in front of man so comically large that she doesn't come up farther than his elbow.

Del. Howard P. Rawlings, one of Maryland's most powerful politicians and the father of the City Council's vice president, is leading a campaign against a plan to reshape the council. Rawlings is chairman of a campaign-style committee formed last week to fight Question P, an initiative that aims to shrink the council and do away with multimember districts. Creation of the Power to the People Committee Against Question P is one indication that the ballot battle is heating up with just over a week to go before voters decide the council's fate in the Nov. 5 election.

Are you better off than you were four years ago? That question, first raised by Ronald Reagan in a landmark 1980 debate with Jimmy Carter, is getting a second tour of duty these days courtesy of Mitt Romney and his fellow Republicans. That's not surprising given the GOP's resolve to repeat their feat of three decades ago and take down an incumbent Democratic president during a time of high unemployment. Then and now, the question is not only unfair but imprecise - unless the election was being held to select a deity, no mere mortal has total control over the U.S. economy, let alone the geopolitics and macroeconomics that shape it. But it's also a question that President Barack Obama and the Democrats ought to welcome.

She came, she saw, she sort of conquered.They came, they saw, they sort of worshiped.That's the way it was at the Senator Theatre when actress Kathleen Turner appeared Wednesday night before a crowd of 800 to discuss her new film "House of Cards," her career and her nipples.Yes, her nipples.Question from the audience: "Were those your real nipples in 'Crimes of Passion'?"Audience: Gasp!Turner: "Yes, they were, honey."Audience: Laughter.Questioner: "You have the best breasts of anybody."Turner: "Thank you but -- we can stop there."

Question: What happens to my K Bank account? Answer: All K Bank deposit accounts, including checking, savings, certificates of deposits and retirement accounts, have been transferred to M&T. No one lost any money on deposit in K Bank. Question: Can I still use my ATM or debit card and bill-paying? Answer: Your cards and bill-paying will continue to work as usual. Question: What happens to my loan with K Bank? Answer: M&T has assumed all of K Bank's loans. Your payment amount and due date do not change.

THE QUESTION: WHO IS THE HIGHEST PAID PUBLIC OFFICIAL IN HOWARD COUNTY? School Superintendent Syndey L. Cousin receives $199,000 a year and a $575 monthly car allowance. Cousin makes more than County Executive James N. Robey, who received a small raise last year to increase his pay to $131,966 annually. Send a question of general interest to: howard.question@baltsun.com