NEWS RELEASE
Wednesday, July 7, 2004

EQUALITY MARYLAND
Contact: Dan Furmansky, Executive Director
Phone:    Office 410-685-6567
Cell    301-461-4900
Email:  dan@equalitymaryland.org

SAME-SEX COUPLES SUE IN MARYLAND FOR THE RIGHT TO MARRY

Court Case Will Challenge Constitutionality of Maryland’s Marriage Laws

BALTIMORE –– The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed a lawsuit today on behalf of nine loving, same-sex couples and a recently widowed man seeking the right to marry in Maryland. Equality Maryland, the leading advocacy organization for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) Marylanders, joined the ACLU in Baltimore this morning for a press conference to announce the onset of litigation. The case, Deane and Polyak v. Conaway, will ask the Maryland Courts to determine the constitutionality of denying marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

“No reasoned argument exists for our state to deny fundamental constitutional guarantees to gay and lesbian Marylanders simply because of who we love,” said Executive Director Dan Furmansky. “It is simply not acceptable that some Marylanders don’t have the right to visit their loved ones in the hospital, or that some children in this state, because they have two parents of the same gender, are left without the same security and protections as other children.”

Equality Maryland and the ACLU worked hand-in-hand to bring the lawsuit, which is being handled by Ken Choe of the ACLU’s Lesbian and Gay Rights Project, David Rocah with the ACLU of Maryland, and cooperating attorneys Andrew H. Baida and Caroline D. Ciraolo of the Baltimore City law firm of Rosenberg Martin Funk Greenberg, LLP. While Deane and Polyak v. Conaway may ultimately be decided by the Maryland Court of Appeals, the highest state court in Maryland, the case must first proceed through the Maryland trial court system, which could take up to a year.

“Without a marriage license, there is no absolute peace of mind for my partner and myself,” said Patrick Wojahn, an Equality Maryland board member who, with partner Dave Kolesar, is one of the plaintiffs in Deane and Polyak v. Conaway. “We have natural fears about being left out in the cold should Dave fall ill again. I know that there are thousands of Maryland couples just like us who seek legal marriage to make caring for our families far less complicated and uncertain than it is now, as virtual strangers under the law.”

The couples in Deane and Polyak v. Conaway live throughout the state and come from all walks of life. To learn more about the couples in the lawsuit, visit:
www.equalitymaryland.org/deane_polyak_bios.htm

To read the complaint in the case, visit:
www.equalitymaryland.org/marriage_complaint.htm

To view a list of questions and answers about the case, visit:
www.equalitymaryland.org/deane_polyak_qanda.htm

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Equality Maryland is Maryland's largest civil rights organization, focused on making life better for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender citizens of Maryland.   Equality Maryland works to secure and protect the rights of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Marylanders by promoting legislative initiatives on the state, county and municipal levels and educating the public about the issues faced by our diverse community.

Equality Maryland can be found online at www.equalitymaryland.org