From Washington Post

Duncan Treads Lightly

By Washington Post Staff Writer

August 19, 2004

Montgomery County Executive Douglas M. Duncan (D) is struggling with his public position on the thorny issue of same-sex marriage.

Two weeks ago, Duncan waded into the debate by telling a newspaper for Washington's gay community that he supports a lawsuit seeking to overturn a state ban on same-sex marriages.

In the interview printed in the Washington Blade, Duncan said Equality Maryland and the American Civil Liberties Union were correct in filing a lawsuit in Baltimore Circuit Court on behalf of nine gay couples challenging the ban.

The suit, which could end up before the Maryland Court of Appeals, says the ban violates the state constitution's equal protection clause. "I talked with Equality Maryland and they asked that I support the court case, which I do," Duncan told the Washington Blade. "Look, gay marriages have been taking place in Massachusetts, the sky is not falling, there's no doom and gloom."

But Duncan was much more circumspect when he discussed the issue in an interview this week. Although he said he supports the lawsuit because he wants the courts to decide the issue once and for all, he declined to give his personal view on gay marriage.

"It's a civil rights issue, and it is being resolved by the courts, and I think that is the appropriate venue for it," Duncan said.

When asked whether he would support state legislation to legalize same-sex marriages, Duncan's only response was that Equality Maryland, a gay advocacy group, was not pushing for a legislative solution.

"I support the efforts as it relates to this meeting" with Equality Maryland, said Duncan, who signed a law in 1999 that gave domestic-partnership benefits to county employees in same-sex relationships.

Duncan's nuanced position highlights the potential pitfalls over the issue for a politician who is considering a statewide run for office, as Duncan is for governor in 2006. While gays and lesbians are an important Democratic constituency, a Washington Post poll earlier this year found 58 percent of Marylanders oppose same-sex marriage.