Posted by Phil Lee (208.19.133.132) on July 31, 2001 at 10:32:
Md. Gay Rights Bill Clears Key Senate Panel
By Daniel LeDuc, Washington Post, March 21, 2001; Page B01
Gov. Parris N. Glendening won a major political victory yesterday when a key Senate committee approved his proposal to ban discrimination against gay men and lesbians in Maryland.
The Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee voted 6 to 5 to approve legislation Glendening (D) has been advocating for three years to protect gay men and lesbians from discrimination in housing, public accommodations and employment.
"This is a tremendous victory for justice and fairness and inclusion in Maryland," Glendening said moments after the vote. "This is a human victory."
Opponents, led by conservative Republicans on the Senate committee, are contemplating trying to filibuster the proposal when it reaches the full Senate. However, they may not have enough votes to delay the legislation.
Proponents say a majority of the House and Senate support the bill.
The legislation, Senate Bill 205, would add Maryland to a list of 10 other states and the District that have laws against discrimination based on sexual orientation. Virginia lawmakers killed a similar proposal this year.
Montgomery, Prince George's and Howard counties and Baltimore have local ordinances protecting gay residents. The legislation would extend the protections statewide. The law would apply to businesses with more than 15 employees and landlords with more than five rental units.
Glendening had made the legislation, along with a proposal to ban police from stopping motorists based solely on race, the cornerstones of his efforts to promote his vision for a more fair state.
The gay rights legislation is the most divisive social issue confronting the General Assembly this year. Glendening, one of the nation's most liberal governors, was adamant in his desire to see it approved.
"There was no political hardball or broken kneecaps [to convince wavering senators]," he said. "Just discussion about the seriousness of these things."
The governor also had a personal interest in the legislation, based on the experience of his brother, who hid his homosexuality during two decades in the Air Force and has since died from an AIDS-related illness. "This is a broad policy issue. It's not a personal crusade," Glendening said. "But I did this morning think about my brother."
The four Republicans on the committee and a Democrat, Philip C. Jimeno, of Anne Arundel County, voted against the legislation. But other Democrats, including the chairman, Walter M. Baker, of Cecil County, and the vice chairman, Leo E. Green, of Prince George's County, won out.
Members of gay and lesbian organizations hugged and grew tearful when the committee approved the legislation.
"It's a huge victory," said Nancy Meyer, co-chairman of Free State Justice, a gay and lesbian organization that lobbied intensely for the proposal. "This committee has been the impediment for moving the bill to the floor of the Senate so we could get a vote in the full Senate."
In 1999, the committee refused to bring the gay rights bill to a vote, prompting an angry reaction from Glendening.
The issue was so divisive that the governor and Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. (D-Prince George's) agreed not to push the issue last year.
This year, a conservative Democrat left the committee and was replaced by a liberal Baltimore senator, Perry Sfikas. His vote helped make the winning majority.
"Come hell or high water, we're going to move this committee into the 19th century," Sfikas said. "Human rights are good for everybody."
Baker acknowledged that the committee is conservative. But, he said, "we're not reactionary."
Advocates also said they did a better job of educating senators about the legislation, noting that it does not allow gay marriages, mandate domestic partner benefits or require the teaching of homosexuality as an acceptable lifestyle in schools. They also brought in business leaders to testify that it would encourage a diverse work force.
Republicans on the committee made almost a dozen tries to water down the proposal and then, yesterday, attempted to delay a vote.
They argued that homosexuality is a chosen lifestyle, unlike race or gender, that does not deserve special protection in law, and that the legislation would put an undue burden on businesses.
Sen. Timothy R. Ferguson (R-Carroll) said restaurant owners would be in a quandary if a gay couple kissed in their establishments and nearby diners complained about it.
"Under this law, it would be found to be normal and standard and usual behavior for two men to be hugging and kissing and displaying affection," he said. "What in God's name is the owner of this restaurant going to do?"