I live in Baltimore. I like it here and I like living in the very sane State of Maryland. I’ve been quite pleased that this year’s General Assembly is on the road to passing Marriage Equality. After a lot of head counting, the Bill passed the State Senate last week and headed to the House of Delegates were quick passage was expected. Governor O’Malley is committed to signing the law. Once the Bill is signed, voters in Maryland will have the final approval in the 2012 election.
Moving this measure of justice forward is yet another reason to be proud of Maryland, but yesterday two Delegates stalled the vote. One was from Prince George’s County outside of DC. That Delegate, Tiffany Alston, is now expected to vote for the Bill on Friday (I guess she needed a “Hamlet” moment). But the stunning and embarrassing news for me was this:
What Del. Jill Carter plans to do remains a mystery for now.
The Baltimore Democrat said she was withholding support to call attention to other issues — education funding, joint custody of children in divorces — that she says she views as “more important, or at least equally important.”
It’s unclear whether the House Judiciary Committee will try again today to take a vote on the Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Protection Act. The plan needs 12 committee votes to pass, and exactly 12 delegates (including Carter and Alston) signaled their support by signing on as co-sponsors.
Del. Jill Carter is my Delegate. It is embarrassing to be represented by somebody who is so cavalier about justice and human rights. The ‘education funding’ line is a complete dodge as Del. Carter is viewed as clueless on the subject by local advocates. And today she missed another vote on the Bill. The excuse this time was that she felt sick.
I’ve called her office a number of times today and only gotten answering machines. I’ve left messages and asked for a return call–nothing (perhaps her entire staff has been made ill by her actions). I’ll give it another go in the morning.
If anybody wishes to encourage Delegate Carter to vote for the Bill–a Bill that she has signed as a co-sponsor–you could reach her at:
JILL P. CARTER
Democrat, District 41, Baltimore CityHouse Office Building, Room 317
6 Bladen St., Annapolis, MD 21401
(410) 841-3283, (301) 858-3283
1-800-492-7122, ext. 3283 (toll free)
e-mail: [email protected]
fax: (410) 841-3251, (301) 858-3251
I hope she is well enough on Friday to stop embarrassing herself, her constituents (like me) and Maryland.
Cheers
And let’s use this mini-rant as another late night Open Thread….