Maryland's legislature recommits the Civil Marriage Protection Act to committee

Debate started at 11AM. Here's a snippet of a report from Yusef Najafi at Metro Weekly:

The Maryland's House of Delegates is entering hour two of debates on Senate Bill 116, legislation that would grant same-sex couples in the state legal marriage recognition, while also protecting the rights of religious institutions to handle issues of marriage however they see fit.

Discussions from both sides have been passionate and often ended with applause in the House chambers.

Del. Emmett Burns (D-Baltimore City) said he found it offensive that the gay rights movement is often compared to the civil rights movement. Burns added that he's been threatened and called the "N-word" regarding his opposition to the marriage bill.

"The civil rights movement as I knew it... had nothing to do with same-sex marriage," he said, "and those who decide to ride on our coattails are historically incorrect. The civil rights movement was about putting teeth into the Declaration of Independence."

UPDATE (2:30 PM ET): from Equality Maryland:

EQUALITY MARYLAND VOWS TO KEEP UP FIGHT FOR MARRIAGE

March 11, 2011 -- After lengthy debate and support from thousands of Marylanders from all over the state, today the House of Delegates recommitted the Civil Marriage Protection Act to committee.

Statement by the Staff and Board of Equality Maryland; Morgan Meneses-Sheets, Executive Director and Charles Butler, Board President

"While we are disappointed the House did not vote to pass marriage equality today, we are confident we will win in the future. With so much at stake today for thousands of Maryland families, we are thankful that our legislative allies have taken such care with this vote. It is best to delay this historic vote until we are absolutely sure we have the votes to win. We look forward to working strategically with our amazing allies in the legislature, and our supporters across the state, to continue to build support for, and win, marriage equality in the Free State.

We are extraordinarily grateful to the many leaders who have stood by us throughout this journey. We wouldn't have made it this far without their tireless dedication. We especially would like to thank our lead sponsors - Senators Rob Garagiola (D-15), Jamie Raskin (D-20) and Rich Madaleno (D-18) and Delegates Kumar Barve (D-17), Ben Barnes (D-21) and Keiffer Mitchell.  We are also extremely fortunate to have such dedicated leaders in the members of Maryland's LGBT Caucus and proud to call them not just our partners but our friends.  Special thanks to Delegates Maggie McIntosh (D-43), Heather Mizeur (D-20), Anne Kaiser (D-14), Luke Clippinger (D-46), Bonnie Cullison (D-19), Mary Washington (D-43) and Peter Murphy (D-28).  No one could have done more to push for the passage of this legislation.

We commend the thousands of supporters across the state who made calls, sent emails, and met with their legislators to tell them why all Maryland couples should be treated fairly. Folks from all over Maryland stood up and told their stories, got involved and built grassroots support to extend to the freedom to marry to all loving and committed couples.

As a result of the tireless efforts, strong hearts, and the determination of gay and lesbian couples and our many allies it is only a matter of time before Marylanders achieve marriage equality.  

Equality Maryland is more committed than ever to this fight. We're committed to working with our allies in the legislature to redouble our efforts to ensure that our voices are heard and our rights are protected. We know our cause is just. We know that a growing majority of Marylanders believe in the same values of fairness and equality.

We must commit to this fight for the long haul, and together we will triumph!"

Update 2: (2:45 PM ET) Here is an excerpt from an e-mail from EQMD's executive director Morgan Meneses-Sheets with the subject line "Where we go from here".  After reflecting the content of the press release above, she adds

There is still work to do this year.  The Gender Identity Anti-Discrimination Act (HB 235) provides critical protections in employment and housing on the basis of gender identity and expression.  All hardworking people in our state, including transgender people, should have a chance to earn a living and provide for themselves and their families.

We must pass HB235 to ensure that no one has to live in fear that they will be fired for reasons unrelated to their ability to do the job.

All residents of our state should be treated fairly and equally under the law. Equality Maryland is committed to advancing House Bill 235 this year and to continuing to work to end the exclusion of loving and committed gay and lesbian couples from marriage.

Update 3 (from Autumn): (4:15 PM EST) The Washington Blade's Kevin Naff has commentary up on the bill's defeat, entitled Amateur hour in Maryland House. He names a number of names:

...This issue of the Blade went to press Thursday morning, so it's possible that the House got its act together and passed the bill since I wrote this. But that doesn't change the fact that the process has been an embarrassing, amateurish mess.

We've watched as sponsors of the bill moved to obstruct its passage. Delegates who raked in gay money during their campaigns suddenly got cold feet and had to pray over the issue. The LGBT Caucus in the House - now seven members strong after Del. Peter Murphy came out in an exclusive Blade interview - seemed invisible compared to the leadership demonstrated by Sen. Rich Madaleno during the Senate debate and vote.

A couple of political careers likely imploded during this process, including those of Dels. Jill Carter (D-Baltimore City) and Sam Arora (D-Montgomery County). Carter and Del. Tiffany Alston stunned backers of the Civil Marriage Protection Act by staying away from a meeting of the House Judiciary Committee in which a vote on the marriage bill was scheduled to take place, and announced they would not vote on the measure until Democratic leaders paid more attention to other issues they feel are equally important. Both Carter and Alston are co-sponsors of the marriage bill. Where was House Speaker Michael Busch when we needed him to keep these selfish renegades in line?

And Arora, who campaigned as a supporter of marriage equality and accepted financial contributions from LGBT people across the state and beyond, also yanked his support, triggering a flood of angry responses on his Facebook page and calls for him to refund those donations. Arora represents liberal Montgomery County. And his betrayal represents the end of his young political career...

Kevin Naff ends his piece by laying blame on the "sloppy handling of the issue by the House leadership" as to why the bill didn't pass into law.

There's more in The Blade's article -- it's worth a look. He also has some commentary on the gender identity civil rights bill in his piece as well -- that commentary will no double anger some in the trans blogosphere.