{"id":14794,"date":"2011-02-24T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2011-02-24T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aclu-md.org\/press-releases\/maryland-senate-passes-bill-legalizing-marriage-same-sex-couples\/"},"modified":"2011-02-24T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2011-02-24T05:00:00","slug":"maryland-senate-passes-bill-legalizing-marriage-same-sex-couples","status":"publish","type":"press_release","link":"https:\/\/www.aclu-md.org\/press-releases\/maryland-senate-passes-bill-legalizing-marriage-same-sex-couples\/","title":{"rendered":"Maryland Senate Passes Bill Legalizing Marriage For Same-Sex Couples"},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":""},"class_list":["post-14794","press_release","type-press_release","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":{"subheading":"","date_and_time":"2011-02-24 00:00:00","featured_image":null,"components":[{"acf_fc_layout":"text","text":{"text":"<strong>MEDIA RELEASE<\/strong>\n\n<strong>Maryland Senate Passes Bill Legalizing Marriage For Same-Sex Couples<\/strong>\n\n<strong>ACLU Urges Swift Action In The House of Delegates<\/strong>\n\n \n\nFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE\n\nFebruary 24, 2011\n\nCONTACT: Meredith Curtis, ACLU of Maryland, (410) 889-8550 x115; <a href=\"mailto:curtis@aclu-md.org\">curtis@aclu-md.org<\/a><br> Robyn Shepherd, ACLU national, (212) 519-7829 or 549-2666; <a href=\"mailto:media@aclu.org\">media@aclu.org<\/a>\n\nANNAPOLIS - The Maryland state Senate today approved a bill  that would legalize marriage for same-sex couples. SB 116 - the Civil  Marriage Protection Act - now heads to the House of Delegates for  consideration. If it passes there, it will be sent to the desk of  Governor Martin O'Malley, who has indicated that he will sign it.\n\nPreviously, same-sex couples in Maryland were granted limited  rights. The Civil Marriage Protection Act would grant same-sex couples  the full benefits of marriage, making Maryland the sixth state to do so.  In addition, the bill protects the constitutional right to free  exercise of religion by protecting objecting religious institutions from  being forced to perform civil marriages.\n\nMarriage for same-sex couples is legal in Massachusetts, Vermont, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Iowa and the District of Columbia.\n\nThe following can be attributed to Melissa Goemann, Legislative Director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland:\n\n\"This is a proud day for all Marylanders who value the rights of loving couples to take care of each other. Excluding committed same-sex couples from marriage is discriminatory and irresponsible. We urge members of the House of Delegates to act swiftly and positively, so that marriage equality legislation can to go the desk of Governor O'Malley for his signature as soon as possible.\"\n\nThe following can be attributed to James Esseks, Director of the ACLU Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Project:\n\n\"Following the monumental announcement by President Obama  that the so-called Defense of Marriage Act's refusal to respect the  marriages of same-sex couples is unconstitutional, it's fitting that the  Maryland Senate has taken another important step forward in extending  the national trend of fairness and dignity for all families. Committed  same-sex couples deserve the security, protection and respect for their  relationships that only comes with marriage.\"\n\n###"}}],"use_default_media_contact":true,"name":"","email":"","phone":"","address":{"address_1":"","address_2":"","city":"","state":"","zip_code":"","country":"United States"},"pgp_public_key":"","spokesperson":null,"related_content":[],"issues":[5405],"toggle-pdf":true,"documents":null},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Maryland Senate Passes Bill Legalizing Marriage For Same-Sex Couples - ACLU of Maryland<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aclu-md.org\/press-releases\/maryland-senate-passes-bill-legalizing-marriage-same-sex-couples\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"es_ES\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Maryland Senate Passes Bill Legalizing Marriage For Same-Sex Couples - ACLU of Maryland\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"MEDIA RELEASE Maryland Senate Passes Bill Legalizing Marriage For Same-Sex Couples ACLU Urges Swift Action In The House of Delegates &nbsp; FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 24, 2011 CONTACT: Meredith Curtis, ACLU of Maryland, (410) 889-8550 x115; curtis@aclu-md.org Robyn Shepherd, ACLU national, (212) 519-7829 or 549-2666; media@aclu.org ANNAPOLIS - The Maryland state Senate today approved a [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.aclu-md.org\/press-releases\/maryland-senate-passes-bill-legalizing-marriage-same-sex-couples\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"ACLU of Maryland\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.aclu-md.org\/app\/themes\/aclu-parent\/img\/default_fb_share.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aclu-md.org\/press-releases\/maryland-senate-passes-bill-legalizing-marriage-same-sex-couples\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.aclu-md.org\/press-releases\/maryland-senate-passes-bill-legalizing-marriage-same-sex-couples\/\",\"name\":\"Maryland Senate Passes Bill Legalizing Marriage For Same-Sex Couples - ACLU of Maryland\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aclu-md.org\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2011-02-24T05:00:00+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aclu-md.org\/press-releases\/maryland-senate-passes-bill-legalizing-marriage-same-sex-couples\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"es-ES\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.aclu-md.org\/press-releases\/maryland-senate-passes-bill-legalizing-marriage-same-sex-couples\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aclu-md.org\/press-releases\/maryland-senate-passes-bill-legalizing-marriage-same-sex-couples\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Press Releases\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/live-awp-maryland.pantheonsite.io\/press-releases\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Maryland Senate Passes Bill Legalizing Marriage For Same-Sex Couples\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aclu-md.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.aclu-md.org\/\",\"name\":\"ACLU of Maryland\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aclu-md.org\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.aclu-md.org\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"es-ES\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aclu-md.org\/#organization\",\"name\":\"ACLU of Maryland\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.aclu-md.org\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"es-ES\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aclu-md.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.aclu-md.org\/app\/uploads\/2025\/08\/ACLU-Maryland_Color-Logo_RGB.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.aclu-md.org\/app\/uploads\/2025\/08\/ACLU-Maryland_Color-Logo_RGB.png\",\"width\":1063,\"height\":620,\"caption\":\"ACLU of Maryland\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aclu-md.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Maryland Senate Passes Bill Legalizing Marriage For Same-Sex Couples - ACLU of Maryland","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.aclu-md.org\/press-releases\/maryland-senate-passes-bill-legalizing-marriage-same-sex-couples\/","og_locale":"es_ES","og_type":"article","og_title":"Maryland Senate Passes Bill Legalizing Marriage For Same-Sex Couples - ACLU of Maryland","og_description":"MEDIA RELEASE Maryland Senate Passes Bill Legalizing Marriage For Same-Sex Couples ACLU Urges Swift Action In The House of Delegates &nbsp; FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 24, 2011 CONTACT: Meredith Curtis, ACLU of Maryland, (410) 889-8550 x115; curtis@aclu-md.org Robyn Shepherd, ACLU national, (212) 519-7829 or 549-2666; media@aclu.org ANNAPOLIS - The Maryland state Senate today approved a [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.aclu-md.org\/press-releases\/maryland-senate-passes-bill-legalizing-marriage-same-sex-couples\/","og_site_name":"ACLU of Maryland","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/www.aclu-md.org\/app\/themes\/aclu-parent\/img\/default_fb_share.jpg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.aclu-md.org\/press-releases\/maryland-senate-passes-bill-legalizing-marriage-same-sex-couples\/","url":"https:\/\/www.aclu-md.org\/press-releases\/maryland-senate-passes-bill-legalizing-marriage-same-sex-couples\/","name":"Maryland Senate Passes Bill Legalizing Marriage For Same-Sex Couples - ACLU of Maryland","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.aclu-md.org\/#website"},"datePublished":"2011-02-24T05:00:00+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.aclu-md.org\/press-releases\/maryland-senate-passes-bill-legalizing-marriage-same-sex-couples\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"es-ES","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.aclu-md.org\/press-releases\/maryland-senate-passes-bill-legalizing-marriage-same-sex-couples\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.aclu-md.org\/press-releases\/maryland-senate-passes-bill-legalizing-marriage-same-sex-couples\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Press Releases","item":"https:\/\/live-awp-maryland.pantheonsite.io\/press-releases\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Maryland Senate Passes Bill Legalizing Marriage For Same-Sex Couples"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.aclu-md.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.aclu-md.org\/","name":"ACLU of Maryland","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.aclu-md.org\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.aclu-md.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"es-ES"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.aclu-md.org\/#organization","name":"ACLU of Maryland","url":"https:\/\/www.aclu-md.org\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"es-ES","@id":"https:\/\/www.aclu-md.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.aclu-md.org\/app\/uploads\/2025\/08\/ACLU-Maryland_Color-Logo_RGB.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.aclu-md.org\/app\/uploads\/2025\/08\/ACLU-Maryland_Color-Logo_RGB.png","width":1063,"height":620,"caption":"ACLU of Maryland"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.aclu-md.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}}]}},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"ACLU of Maryland","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/www.aclu-md.org\/es\/","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aclu-md.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press_release\/14794","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aclu-md.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press_release"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aclu-md.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/press_release"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aclu-md.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.aclu-md.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press_release\/14794\/revisions"}],"acf:post":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aclu-md.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/issue\/5405"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aclu-md.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14794"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}