Submitted by:
The Rev. Beatrice M. Billups
The Rev. James R. Crowder
The Rev. Frank E. Fortkamp
Christina Harris
The Rev. Eleanor Holland
The Rev. Alice Jellema
The Rev. T. Stewart Lucas
The Rev. Martha Macgill
Louise E. Miller
The Rev. Ronald H. Miller
The Rev. Dr. Victoria R. Sirota
The Rev. Scott Slater
The Rev. P. Kingsley Smith
The Rev. Lee Ann Tolzmann
The Rev. Kathryn A. Wajda
The Rev. Lauren M. Welch
The Rev. Tammy Wooliver
RESOLVED, that the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland, meeting in Convention May 6-7, 2005, opposes any amendment to the Constitution of the United States or the Maryland State Constitution which would prohibit civil marriage or unions between persons of the same sex.
AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Secretary of Convention is directed to communicate this resolution to the members of the Maryland House of Delegates, Maryland Senate, and to the United States Senators from Maryland as well as the Maryland delegation to the U.S. House of Representatives.
There have been a number of proposals to amend the U.S. and Maryland State constitutions for the purpose of prohibiting marriage and/or civil unions between persons of the same sex, including Maryland House Bill 1220. These attempts to modify the federal and state constitutions would create new discriminatory barriers to gay and lesbian persons who desire equality in taxation, child custody, personal finances, and the right to make health care decisions for elderly or sick partners. They also would obstruct the progress being made by some jurisdictions where new understandings of civil marriage are evolving. In Massachusetts, Vermont, Canada, and several western European countries, a legal bond between committed, life-long, monogamous couples is recognized by the state for purposes of taxation, property ownership, inheritance, parental rights, and health care. The proposed constitutional amendments close the door on such solutions and encumber future leaders with a discriminatory provision that would be difficult to change. The blessing of marriages as religious sacraments is performed separately by the church and is not required or suggested by this resolution.