Maryland Attorney General Doug Gansler is surprised Maryland hasn’t moved to legalize same-sex marriage sooner.
A state senate committee is expected to vote on a Gov. Martin O’Malley’s same-sex marriage bill in the next few weeks.
“Ten years ago, people would think, ‘there's no way in the world,’ ‘it's like walking around on Mars,’ ‘there's no way same-sex couples are getting married in this country,’” Gansler said at a speaking event Jan. 31 in MGC 3, sponsored by AU College Democrats. “Ten years from now, they are going to look back at it as if it was some sort of quaint debate: ‘You know that was weird. Remember when they didn't let same-sex couples get married?’"
Gansler also called the issue a “Republican” one, saying that he believes Republicans see homosexuality as choice and “believe that they can be changed to no longer be homosexual.”
“There’s no issue — it seems to me right now — that’s a social issue that’s more Republican,” Gansler said.
Lawmakers also remain undecided on whether the state should recognize same-sex marriages from other states.
"There's five states in the middle where we say marriage is between a man and a woman, so we don't allow same-sex marriages in the great state of Maryland,” Gansler said in his speech. “But we will, and we are silent on what we are going to do about these other marriages [same-sex marriages from other states].”
Gansler testified in favor of same-sex marriage at a Maryland senatorial hearing Jan. 31, a move Gansler considered risky.
"I knew if I talked to my political people — as you see everyone is over-coached these days — they'd say that was a really stupid idea politically,” Gansler said. “But I thought it was the right thing to do, and I get paid less than paralegals that work at big law firms, so I thought, ‘you know, what if I'm going to be doing this job, I might as well do what's right.’"
The State Senate legalized same-sex marriage in February 2011 but it failed in the State House that March. Gansler hopes both chambers will pass the bill this year.
Gansler was elected attorney general in 2006 and is in his second term. He is also the president-elect of the National Association of Attorney Generals, the assembly of all the attorney generals in the United States.
Gansler teaches as an adjunct professor in AU’s Washington College of Law, where he teaches Criminal Trial Advocacy.
He supports the unionization of AU adjunct professors, saying it gives adjunct professors an opportunity for competitive pay.
“If in fact it passes, the next issue is: What will the union do for the adjunct professors?” Gansler said.
He encourages students to vote whenever they can, but also to take their time in college to pick a side of the political spectrum.
“I don't think people should pick a party based on what their parents are, but they should understand the issues and figure out which party is more aligned with their views,” Gansler said. “And then get involved the party."
hmongilio@theeagleonline.com
