Members of a Maryland House Judiciary committee on Wednesday shot down a bill that would prohibit Maryland from recognizing gay marriages validated by other states or countries.
Without discussion or debate, the committee soundly defeated the Same Sex Marriages – Foreign Jurisdictions – Invalidity Act (House Bill 90) by a vote of 12-8.
The bill, if approved, would have invalidated marriages between same-sex couples entered into in another state or in a foreign country, and would have declared “marriages between individuals of the same sex are against the public policy of the State.”
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The bill’s sponsor, Emmett C. Burns, a Baltimore County Democrat and minister, had proposed that the state, which does not allow same-sex unions, pass a law explicitly declaring that such marriages are illegal, even when performed in another state.
The same committee has rejected similar measures introduced in other years. Its vote prevents the bill from going to the House floor for debate.
