Gay and lesbian Marylanders had something extra to be grateful for on Thanksgiving Day...the state's gay-rights law went into effect the previous day at 3:31 p.m. with the stroke of a pen. Judge Eugene Lerner signed the agreement by which the right-wing TakeBackMaryland.org withdrew its referendum petition to overturn the law.
The Maryland state legislature passed the Antidiscrimination Act of 2001 earlier this spring and it was to have gone into effect Oct. 1. But the TakeBack group submitted what initially appeared to be sufficient signatures on petitions to send the matter to the voters in 2002. That put the law on ice.
Charles J. Butler, an attorney with Covington & Burling, represented the gay group Free State Justice and 24 other plaintiffs. He challenged those signatures with a lawsuit filed July 30, saying some had been gathered illegally. A "special master" appointed by the court agreed that a sufficient number were "subject to challenge" and could invalidate the entire process.
Butler began taking depositions from petition circulators with the TakeBack group. Under oath, many admitted irregularities in procedures, often out of ignorance, that would void certain petitions. Once their attorney took a look at the petitions and depositions, the legal tune changed. Brian Fahling, a lawyer with the homophobic American Family Association, assisted the group. He told the Washington Post, "It became clear that we were going to lose a good number of signatures. We don't have a chance of prevailing."
Fahling negotiated a withdrawal of the petition, ending further litigation. That agreement is what Judge Lerner signed.
"We know the people of Maryland overwhelmingly support this law," said Blake Humphreys, managing director of the gay group Free State Justice. About half of the state's population already was covered by similar county ordinances.
The leaders of the TakeBack group did not appear in court, but left that to their attorney. They did not respond to media inquiries, and their website still contains fear-mongering warnings of "the gay agenda." There is no mention of their having withdrawn the petition.
Maryland law on petitions allows people only one shot at overturning legislation.
