Maryland Attorney General: Gay Couples Can Get Licenses December 6, Can Marry January 1

Some welcome news from Maryland from Attorney General Doug Gansler, via the Washington Blade:

He wrote in a 19-page opinion that clerks can begin to issue marriage licenses to gays and lesbians as soon as Dec. 6, as long as they don’t take effect until the same-sex marriage law takes effect at the start of the new year. A 1999 law states a marriage license is not valid until 6 a.m. on the second calendar day after a clerk issues it.

Gansler concluded this requirement does not “expressly prohibit licenses becoming effective after that time.”

“Although there is a legal reason why same-sex couples cannot be licensed to marry before midnight on Jan. 1, 2013…, there is no such legal reason why they should not be licensed to marry at any time after the moment the law takes effect,” he wrote.

Said a spokesperson for Governor O'Malley:

“We think it is a thorough and well-reasoned opinion,” David Rocah, staff attorney for the ACLU of Maryland, said. “We expect that, in line with the opinion, county clerks throughout the state will quickly begin accepting applications for marriage licenses, and will start issuing the licenses after December 6, with a January 1 effective date. There are many people who have literally waited a lifetime to get married, and they should not have to wait any longer than necessary after Dec. 31 to do so.”

Maryland's Pro-Marriage Camp Outpaced Opponents 2:1

Some amazing news out of Maryland, where pro-equality activists reportedly brought in more than twice the amount of donations than their anti-gay opponents.

Supporters of a Maryland ballot measure in favor of gay marriage raised more than twice the amount of opponents trying to defeat the measure.

Campaign finance reports filed this week show Marylanders for Marriage Equality, the main group behind the ballot measure, raised more than $5 million. The Maryland Marriage Alliance, which opposed the law, reported raising about $2.4 million.

Just another example of how the hateful, homophobic organizations are falling further out of favor among the American public. Excellent.

Supporters of a Maryland ballot measure in favor of gay marriage raised more than twice the amount of opponents trying to defeat the measure.

Campaign finance reports filed this week show Marylanders for Marriage Equality, the main group behind the ballot measure, raised more than $5 million. The Maryland Marriage Alliance, which opposed the law, reported raising about $2.4 million.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Supporters-raised-5M-for-gay-marriage-in-Md-4077931.php#ixzz2DeEWZPDQ

Roman Catholic Church Gave $2 Million To Stop Marriage Equality

With the dust settling from this month's national elections, Human Rights Campaign has had an opportunity to look over donations to anti-gay marriage initiatives and found that the Roman Catholic Church gave $2 million to the conservative efforts in Minnesota, Maryland, Maine and Washington State.

From HRC:

Taking up where the Mormons left off in 2008, the Catholic Church – and its affiliate, the Knights of Columbus – have made considerable investments in the marriage fights in Minnesota, Maryland, Washington State and Maine this election cycle – spending nearly $2 million. In addition, a close ally of the Church and past co-conspirator, the National Organization for Marriage, spent more than $5.2 million this cycle. Final campaign figures for Maryland and Maine will be available by the end of the month.

Marriage equality opponents across the four states raised $11.3 million. The Catholic Church’s contributions make up 17 percent of that total figure. When you add in the contributions of Church ally NOM, the reality of the coordinated effort becomes clear: the Catholic Church, the Knights of Columbus and NOM are responsible for funding nearly 65 percent of all anti-equality efforts in Minnesota, Maryland, Washington State and Maine.

All this despite poll numbers showing that almost 60% of American Catholics support marriage equality and with poverty, something the Catholic Church claims to oppose, steadily climbing, particularly among Latinos, a largely Catholic demographic. #priorities.

Brendon Ayanbadejo: Raiders 'Congratulated Me' on Maryland Marriage Equality Win

Baltimore Ravens player Brendon Ayanbadejo tells TMZ that several players on his team made note of his advocacy for marriage equality and went out of their way to congratulate him after last week's election:

Brendon tells us, "Three Raiders congratulated me on working with and for marriage equality. I remember their names but I will keep that to myself."

He adds, "Ethnicity-wise, it was two white guys and one black guy. Ethnicity plays an important part in this movement."

(FYI -- the Raiders got their asses kicked 55-20)

Brendon -- who's heterosexual -- has been an outspoken gay rights advocate for years (which is pretty rare in the NFL) and now says he's taking the battle for marriage equality back to his native California.

Is This The Best Picture From Election Night?

Matt Stopera at BuzzFeed passes along this picture of Maryland-based Keesha Patterson proposing to girlfriend Rowan Ha at Obama HQ on election night.

Expand the shot for full effect and check out another AFTER THE JUMP.

'New York Times' Says Anti-Gay Activists Need To Wake Up

Reflecting on Tuesday night's big marriage equality wins, the New York Times editorial board today published a piece that sums up what these wins mean: the right can't act like there's some out-of-touch gay agenda trying to pull one over on the general public.

In a move that shows the shift in public opinion, voters in Maine and Maryland approved measures giving gay and lesbian couples the freedom to marry by decisive results. Early returns in Washington State also show that voters there have passed a same-sex marriage initiative. With these victories, opponents will no longer be able to argue that the movement for marriage equality is something imposed by radical judges and legislators, who are out of touch with the popular will.
…

There is still much work to do to secure the freedom to marry in every jurisdiction and end the odious Defense of Marriage Act that bars federal recognition of same-sex marriages performed in places where it is legal. It is a moment for the opponents of civil rights for all Americans — including Congressional Republicans, who are still defending the marriage act in court — to decide whether they want to continue to stand against justice to court a dwindling share of voters.

But according to Ari Fleischer, former press secretary under George W. Bush, the GOP is going to keep up its anti-gay platform.

"You're not going to make the party pro-choice and pro-gay rights and think you've made the Republican party the party that's the popular party. We have a party like that. It's the Democratic Party," he said during his post-election analysis.

You can watch video of that remark AFTER THE JUMP.