Good News!

I should ressurect some of the Friday traditions, such as monkey/clown blogging, and the song of the day. I should also add a "good news" post, so at least 1 thing on my blog each week is positive.

But here's some really good news from Maryland, which I saw over at Americablog.. which really is the best blog on the net.

A Baltimore Circuit Court judge today struck down Maryland's 33-year-old law against same-sex marriage, ruling in favor of 19 gay men and women who contended the prohibition violated the state's equal rights amendments.

Anticipating that her decision eventually would be appealed to Maryland's highest court, the Court of Appeals, Judge M. Brooke Murdock stayed action on her ruling pending that appeal.

"After much study and serious reflection, this court holds that Maryland's statutory prohibition against same-sex marriage cannot withstand this constitutional challenge," Murdock wrote in her decision.

The American Civil Liberties Union, Equality Maryland and plaintiffs hailed the decision.

"This is such an exciting moment," said Lisa Polyak, who was one of the plaintiffs in the case along with her partner, Gita Deane. "Our participation in this lawsuit has always been about family protections for our children. Tonight, we will rest a little easier knowing that those protections are within reach."

...
But in her ruling today, Murdock wrote that the law "discriminates based on gender."

"There is no apparent compelling state interest in a statutory prohibition of same-sex marriage discriminating, on the basis of sex, against those individuals whose gender is identical to their intended spouses," Murdock wrote. "Indeed, this court is unable to even find that the prohibition of same-sex marriage rationally relates to a legitimate state interest."

I'm still waiting for somebody to present a rational "compelling state interest" why two people of the same gender can't get married. No, sorry, the "ewww it's icky" argument is not a valid one.

But hey.. if you're against same-sex marriage, the solution is obvious. Don't marry somebody of the same sex. If you're just the type that can't stand when other people are happy, well, then you're just a hateful bitch.. right?