# Maryland...Marry-land?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maryland-marry-land/340842>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [January 20, 2006, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maryland-marry-land/340842 "2006-01-20T17:02:15Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\
**Post date:** [January 20, 2006, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maryland-marry-land/340842/1 "2006-01-20T17:02:15Z")

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Yes, it’s an atrocious and painfully obvious pun. Shut up.

Anyway, a judge in Maryland has [ruled](http://365gay.com/Newscon06/01/012006mdMarr.htm) that barring same-sex couples from marrying violates the state constitution.

> [@Judge M. Brooke Murdock](#):
>
> After much study and serious reflection, this court holds that Maryland’s statutory prohibition against same-sex marriage cannot withstand constitutional challenge.
> 
> . . .
> 
> When tradition is the guise under which prejudice or animosity hides, it is not a legitimate state interest.
> 
> . . .
> 
> The Court is not unaware of the dramatic impact of its ruling, but it must not shy away from deciding significant legal issues when fairly presented to it for judicial determination. As others assessing the constitutionality of preventing same-sex marriage note, justifying the continued application of a classification through its past application is ‘circular reasoning, not analysis,’ and that it is not persuasive.

This is not a final ruling and will undoubtedly be appealed to the state’s highest court.

Meanwhile, there is a move in the Democrat-controlled state legislature to make it _harder_ to amend the state constitution to bar same-sex marriage.