Tuesday, June 25, 2002
Maryland high court upholds domestic partner benefits law
A story released today by the Gay City News reports that in 1999 the Montgomery County Council in the Maryland suburbs of Washington passed a law extending benefits to same-sex partners of county employees. On June 14, Maryland's highest court unanimously rejected a legal challenge to those benefits, brought by a group of taxpayers fronting for a conservative legal foundation.
The challengers brought a two-prong attack against the benefits law. First they charged that the county council did not have the legislative authority to pass the law, because it was not a purely local enactment but rather had statewide consequences. Second, they argued that the partner benefits law was in conflict with state family laws, and most particularly a state law that restricts marriage to opposite-sex couples.
A Montgomery County trial judge rejected the challenge, and the plaintiffs used a legal procedure to get an appeal directly to the state's highest court for review.
The court determined at the outset that legislating about partner benefits is fully consistent with the legislative authority of the Council to set personnel policies not in conflict with state law.
More significantly, the court rejected the charge that the County Council was trying to circumvent a state law banning same-sex marriage. The challengers argued that by extending these benefits, the Council was trying to confer a marriage-like status on same-sex couples.
Maryland Chief Justice Bell wrote that, "The Act is a local law that does not infringe upon the Legislature's ability to regulate marriage on a statewide basis."
Bell insisted that the County "must have the power to regulate local employment," in order to remain competitive with other public and private employers with whom it competes in the job market.
