Md. AG’s gay marriage opinion gets mixed reviews

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ANNAPOLIS – In an advisory opinion, Maryland Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler said this morning that the Court of Appeals would likely order that the state recognize as married same-sex Maryland couples who were legally wed in other states.

“While the matter is not free from all doubt, in our view, the Court of Appeals is likely to respect the law of other states and recognize a same-sex marriage contracted validly in another jurisdiction,” Gansler wrote in an opinion released Wednesday morning.

“In light of Maryland’s developing public policy concerning intimate same-sex relationships, the court would not readily invoke the public policy exception to the usual rule” that states recognize legally binding contracts, including marriage, from other states, Gansler added.

Gay marriage is legal in Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont and Washington, D.C.

ACLU of Maryland staff attorney David Rocah praised the decision.

“I think it’s correct and I think it makes clear what we had thought and asserted, which is that well-established Maryland law makes clear that valid out-of-state marriage should be recognized, including in this context, and we have every expectation that the various state agencies will act in accordance with the AG’s view of the law,” Rocah said.

The opinion advises state agencies that they are to treat as validly married same-sex couples who were wed in states where gay marriage is legal, Rocah added.

Del. Emmett C. Burns Jr., D-Baltimore County, said he is “stunned” by the opinion.

“What he has opined is repugnant and is in contradistinction to the policy of this state,” he said.

Gansler’s opinion is not binding on any state agency, Burns noted.

Click here for the full opinion at the Office of the Attorney General’s Web site