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.”
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.
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The same committee has rejected similar measures introduced in other years. Its vote prevents the bill from going to the House floor for debate.