Maryland gay marriage bill passes, heads to governor
Friday, February 24th, 2012 at
5:18 am
Leave your comment
ANNAPOLIS, Maryland (Reuters) – The Maryland Senate approved on Thursday a same-sex marriage bill that will now be sent to Gov. Martin O’Malley, who has promised to sign the legislation and make the state the eighth in the nation to legalize gay and lesbian nuptials. The Senate voted in favor of the bill, which had previously been approved by the state’s lower House of Delegates, after a full day of debate that included efforts by opponents to derail the measure with a series of proposed amendments. …
U.S. News Headlines – Yahoo! News
PORTSMOUTH, Virginia (Reuters) – Virginia’s Republican Gov. Bob McDonnell on Wednesday abruptly shifted his stance on a hotly-contested bill requiring women seeking abortions to have an ultrasound, asking lawmakers to revise the legislation just before a scheduled vote. Virginia’s House of Delegates by a vote of 65-32 approved the revised bill, which calls for women to undergo an abdominal ultrasound but not necessarily a more invasive internal one as required under the original measure. Whether the Senate will now follow suit remains in doubt. …
TRENTON, New Jersey (Reuters) – The New Jersey Assembly passed legislation legalizing same-sex marriage on Thursday, sending the measure to Republican Gov. Chris Christie, a possible vice-presidential candidate who has promised a veto. The Assembly vote of 42 to 33 affirmed a Senate vote from Monday, and the bill is expected to be sent by the end of Friday to Christie, a supporter of Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney. Christie has tried to deflect the issue by saying it should be settled by voters in a referendum. No U.S. state has ever approved same sex marriage in a referendum. …