Supreme Court Strikes Down DOMA: Implications for Maryland

Patch editor Tyler Waldman wrote this article. Havre de Grace Patch editor Elizabeth Janney contributed.

The Supreme Court of the United States on Wednesday struck down the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), entitling all married same-sex couples to federal recognition and benefits.

The vote was 5-4, with Justice Anthony Kennedy, who wrote the opinion, siding with the court's liberal wing, CNN reports. Chief Justice John Roberts, Justice Antonin Scalia and Justice Samuel Alito wrote dissents.
 
The Supreme Court dismissed a case on Proposition 8 due to standing, so a lower court ruling against the measure stands, and same-sex couples will be allowed to marry in California.

The DOMA ruling means married couples in Maryland will be entitled to tax benefits, legal privileges and other rights previously only available to heterosexual couples.

Maryland was one of three states to approve same-sex marriage at the ballot box in 2012, after a General Assembly bill was petitioned to referendum.

Harford County voted against the measure, which was detailed in Question 6 on the ballot; according to the Harford County Board of Elections, 55.88 percent of voters in the county voted against same-sex marriage and 44.12 voted for it.

At the state level, 52.4 percent of Maryland voters were for it and 47.6 percent voted against it.

California has been divided on the issue. On Wednesday, the Supreme Court was set to rule on a challenge to Proposition 8, a successful 2008 California ballot initiative that banned same-sex marriage there.

With the court's ruling on the California law, same-sex marriage is currently legalized or set to become legalized in Washington, DC, and 13 states, including neighboring Delaware (where a law is set to go in effect on July 1).

In February, Maryland Attorney General Doug Gansler filed briefs with the Supreme Court supporting the challenges to the Defense of Marriage Act and California's Proposition 8. "The Supreme Court got it right," Gansler Tweeted in the first of several posts about the rulings.

Maryland Comptroller Peter Franchot Tweeted that he was "proud" of the Supreme Court's ruling.

Gov. Martin O'Malley, long a champion of Maryland's same-sex marriage legislation, also applauded the DOMA ruling on Twitter, writing that the court affirmed "that the way forward is always found through equal rights & respect for human dignity."

In Havre de Grace, St John's Episcopal Church posted to Facebook: "We rang the bell today at noon. This was in celebration of the Supreme Court ratifying the Marriage Equality Act."