Gay Couples Marry in Maryland

Same-sex marriage law went into effect January 1

Gay and lesbian couples in Maryland eagerly lined up to marry in the waning hours of 2012, waiting for the state’s law legalizing same-sex marriage to go into effect at the stroke of midnight January 1.

At Baltimore city hall, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake officiated the wedding ceremony of William Tasker, 60, and James Scales, 68, the latter an employee of the mayor’s office. The couple has been together for 35 years. Six more couples tied the knot that night.

Maryland voters approved the marriage equality law on November 6, one of three states that legalized same-sex marriage by popular vote that day. The others were Washington State and Maine. Washington’s law went into effect December 6 and Maine’s went into effect December 29. Nine states and the District of Columbia have legalized marriage equality thus far.


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