Lambda Legal Disappointed with Maryland Court of Appeals Decision in Marriage Equality Case

(New York, September 18, 2007) — Today, Kevin Cathcart, Executive Director of Lambda Legal, issued the following statement in response to the Maryland Court of Appeals' decision in Conaway v. Deane & Polyak, the lawsuit seeking marriage for same-sex couples in Maryland.

"The right to marry the person you love is a fundamental liberty that should not be denied and today the split majority of the Maryland Court of Appeals denied that right to same-sex couples.  In the case of Conaway v. Deane & Polyak, they ruled that there is no fundamental right to marry a person of the same sex. 

"Today is indeed a disappointing day and we stand by same-sex couples in Maryland who wish to marry and our colleagues at the ACLU and Equality Maryland who are fighting for that right. The struggle for civil rights in America is not without disappointment and frustration.  But the more people hear about the love and commitment that same-sex couples share and the harm that families suffer when they are excluded from the law, the more they agree that this discrimination must end.

"Despite the setback, we will strengthen our resolve and keep making the case for equality.  All eyes are on the legislature, and the question is whether they will keep the constitutional promise that the court trampled."

Lambda Legal, with the assistance of Arnold & Porter and Brown, Goldstein & Levy, submitted an amicus brief in support of marriage equality in the Maryland case on behalf of the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law, the Maryland Disability Law Center, Maryland ADAPT, the National Council of Independent Living, the National Mental Health Association, the National Senior Citizens Law Center and People for the American Way. 

Lambda Legal's lawsuit in Iowa (Varnum v. Brien) was brought on behalf of six same-sex couples seeking the right to marry. In California Lambda Legal is co-counsel, along with lead counsel the National Center for Lesbian Rights and the ACLU, in a lawsuit (In re Marriage Cases) seeking marriage equality on behalf of 15 same-sex couples, Equality California, and Our Family Coalition. In addition, a marriage equality case brought by Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders (GLAD) on behalf of eight same-sex couples is pending at the Supreme Court of Connecticut.

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Contact: Tika Milan T: 212-809-8585 ext. 223; E: tmilan@lambdalegal.org or

Lisa Hardaway T: 212-809-8585 ext. 266; E: lhardaway@lambdalegal.org