In a non-suprising, yet stunning vote on same sex marriage today in the Judiciary Committee of the Maryland House of Delegates, the controversial issue moved forward to second reader on the House floor by a slim margin vote count of 12-10.
The 22-membered committee, led by 11 of the 12 supportive delegates that were co-sponsors of the legislation, passed the measure during an early afternoon vote. The holdout member of the judiciary committee's gay marriage advocates known by some as the 'Dirty Dozen', was one of two delegates who were absent from the vote planned earlier in the week - which left Democratic leaders reeling, after later to being referred to as the 'Dizzy or Divided Dozen'. Delegate Tiffany Alston of Prince George's County, changed her yea vote to nea in today's voting session, leaving the legislation in jeapordy of not even making it out of committee in the House. (Article of the holdout issue earlier this week found here.)
After the fast and expediant manner in which it sped through Maryland's Senate chambers last week, having received a 7-4 Party line vote in the Judicial Proceedings Committee before being given full passage on the Senate floor without much debate by a count of 25-21. As opponents of the measure expected more of a fight on the bill in the Senate with an expected fillibuster failing to come to fruition late last week, they seemed to write off the House vote as a mere formaility. Yet when both delegates, Jill P. Carter of Baltimore and Alston, didn't show for a scheduled vote earlier in the week, calling attention to matters more important to their constituents, it became rallying cry for both opponents and proponents of the measure.
Advocates of the measure began a robo-call e-blast campaign aimed specifically at Carter and Alston, to which the delegate's staffers needed extrea lines put in place to handle the volume of negative callers, demanding them to vote favorable on the measure immediately. However opponents of the measure were encouraged by the events and even went so far as to commend both delegates for standing up to their party's leadership. "I must congratulate both ladies, as I am sure they are catching much flack from those such as Speaker [Mike] Busch and Chairman [Joseph] Vallario, who do not like suprises, especially when they are not in their favor," said Delegate Don Dwyer, the Anne Arundel County Republican who is the self-imposed face of the opposition to this measure. "They stood on principle and showed to the entire State, what most of us down here already know, that votes are bought and sold, based on the Democratic priority of each, and obviously they felt as though that this piece of legislation was not a priority to their respective African American communities; or at least to the extent other issues such as education, crime and unemployment."
However, once the vote was placed before the legislators again today, this time all members of the committee being present and accounted for, Delegate Alston stuck to her guns by voting 'nea' to the measure, while Delegate Carter continued in her quest of supporting the measure with a 'yea' vote. Yet with Alston switching her vote, this left the bill one vote shy of the needed 12-votes for passage? Therefore, staunch opponent of the measure, the Prince George's County Chairman of the committee, chose to vote 'yea' on the bill in committee only to "see it get the up or down vote it deserves on the floor of the entire House [of Delegates]." Though his actions infuriated certain long-time supporters of the delegates, who said they contributed and voted for the Delegate almost solely off his stance against the divisive social issue during past election cycles. "For him to be the defining vote that kept this bill alive, and then have the nerve to say its out of some sort of Democratic interest, is proposterous and totally outrageuous," said an anonymous district resident and lobbyist.
GOP members blasted the chairman's handling of the measure as irresponsible and agregious, as he purposely held the voting session initially though they had a quorum, and then used his vote to appease the Democratic leadership and gay advocacy community, knowing he has always been against it, perverting the system of democracy. However others are praising his efforts as being courageous and admirable. "The chairman took his leadership position as one of a serious magnitude knowing that though he may not have supported the measure, others across the state did thereby casting his vote for democracy rather than for selfish means," said GCOMM Media Chief Operating Officer Victoria Kent. "If we had more legislators down in Annapolis with the foresight and guts as Delegate Vallario, as well as Carter and Alston, we would truly have a governmental system the people could be proud of?"
The bill now goes before the full House of Delegates, 141-members, and will receive probably about a week of testimony on the floor on second and third readers, before the final vote is taken which will need a simple majority of 71-votes to pass. Stay tuned as this Examiner will soon highlight a Delegate from Montgomery County, who says he voted for the measure in committee, and now will vote for it on the floor, only to see it go to the People of this State, as apparently he feels as though "they deserve the final say on this measure."
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