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(Annapolis, Maryland) A new GOP push for a
constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage turned into a heated exchange
in the Senate Judicial Committee.
Last month Democrats outmaneuvered Republicans in
the House to kill a proposed amendment that would have banned same-sex marriage
and civil unions in the state.
Last week Republicans returned with a new version
that would permit civil unions while banning gays from marrying.
Dozens people filled the gallery as the Senate
Judicial Committee began considering the bill on Wednesday. The meeting reached
a crescendo during testimony by James Raskin, a constitutional law professor
from American University.
As Raskin laid out his reasons why the proposed
amendment should be discarded Sen. Nancy Jacobs (R) interrupted him.
"As I read Biblical principles, marriage was
intended, ordained and started by God - that is my belief," Jacobs
declared. "For me, this is an issue solely based on religious
principals."
Raskin retorted that the Bible was also used in
attempts to justify bans on interracial marriage.
"People place their hand on the Bible and
swear to uphold the Constitution; they don't put their hand on the Constitution
and swear to uphold the Bible," he said.
The issue of same-sex marriage is headed to the
Court of Appeal. In January a Baltimore judge ruled that
the state law banning same-sex unions is unconstitutional.
©365Gay.com 2006
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