Group wants state ban abolished; Lawmakers had asked to be defendants.

A group of elected officials opposed to same-sex marriage cannot become defendants in the hot-button lawsuit filed by nine couples who want the state's ban on gay marriage erased, Maryland's highest court ruled today.

The decision, issued by the Maryland Court of Appeals a day after it heard arguments and with no opinion detailing its reasoning, returns the lawsuit to Baltimore City Circuit Court, where the same-sex couples last July sued five court clerks who refused them marriage licenses.

The case ground to a halt when eight legislators and another clerk asked to become defendants represented not by the Attorney General's Office -- who was defending the state law and the clerks who were sued -- but by private attorneys.

"They were interjecting for the sole purpose of delaying this case. This case involves important issues that no matter which side of the controversy you are on should be decided promptly," said Andrew H. Baida, one of the couples' attorneys. Their lawsuit is backed by the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation.

Calling the fast and favorable ruling "humane," Lisa Polyak of Baltimore, who sued with her partner, said, "Every day that we wait is another day we have to pay double health insurance and that I have to worry of creating odd legal constructs for us."

The lawmakers and county clerk -- Republican Robert P. Duckworth of Anne Arundel County -- argued in part that the issue should not be decided by the courts, but by voters and the legislature, where efforts to restrict gay rights are stalled.

This entry was posted on Friday, March 11, 2005 at 1:18 PM. Want to discuss? Leave a comment below.