D14's Delegate Anne Kaiser celebrates Civil Marriage passage

Last night in Annapolis, history was made. And the Montgomery County Young Dems helped make it happen.

For months, Young Dems have been making phone calls all over the state, encouraging people to contact their electeds and vote for equal rights for GLBT Marylanders. We’ve been lobbying in Annapolis, and we campaigned to elect officials who were supporters in the first place.

It all paid off last night, when 70 Democrats and 2 Republicans voted to pass the Civil Marriage Protection Act HB 438. The bill moves now to the Senate, where it is fully expected to pass on to Governor O’Malley, a vocal and active supporter.

The MCYD are especially happy for the 8 openly gay delegates and senator who will now be able to have their relationships officially recognized in the state of Maryland, if they wish, including Montgomery County’s own Bonnie Cullison, Anne Kaiser, Rich Madaleno, and Heather Mizeur.

The fight isn’t over: there will almost certainly be a referendum in November. Young Dems can play a crucial role in helping register our peers to vote and get them out for early voting and on November 6th.

Montgomery County Young Dems weekly phone banks helped pass the historic vote

The new executive board ran on a five-point plan of making MCYD more transparent, intentional, effective, inclusive, and empowering. “One of our biggest challenges during our next two years will be to create a model organization that truly reflects and represents the active, passionate, and hard-working community of young Democrats here in Montgomery County,” said newly elected President Dave Kunes. “Montgomery County needs to do its part to activate new voters to help address the steep dropoff in young registered Democrats the state has seen since June of 2010. The executive board and membership are dedicated to work tirelessly with all the past, current, and future members of MCYD to ensure that we are heard.”

Montgomery County Young Democrats holds monthly membership meetings. For media inquiries, contact Director of Communications Abe Saffer at Abe.Saffer@MCYD.org

MCYD is a 501(c)(4) organization that offers a voice for young people who seek progressive change in order to secure a just and stable future for all of the county’s residents.

MCYD members live, work, or go to school in Montgomery County and are the age of 39 or younger. But we always welcome the involvement and support of the “Young-at-Heart.”

“Fifteen thousand service members have been discharged because of their sexual orientation,” said Barbara Henderson, president of the County chapter of the Young Democrats.

“Before [President Bill] Clinton, it wasn’t illegal to be gay in the military,” she added, saying that many of the Democrats she knew were “flabbergasted” by the policy.

The party, at Dogfish Head Alehouse, marked the end of a nationwide struggle by gay rights advocacy groups to repeal the policy. Locally, some of the MCYD members sent letters to the President and Congress lobbying for a repeal of the law.

The law, enacted on Dec. 21, 1993, barred gay, lesbian or bisexual people from serving openly in the military. If a soldier disclosed that they were gay while serving, they would be discharged.

The happy hour was sponsored by the LGBT caucus of the Young Democrats of Maryland and the Service members Legal Defence Network. Donations were collected to raise funds for Soldiers’ Angels

Henderson said that although the fight against Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell may be over, there is still plenty of work to be done to bring about true equality.

“Nationally, we’re taking the fight to the Defence of Marriage Act,” she said. That act, also enacted by President Clinton, defines marriage as a legal union between a man and a woman.

“And right here in Maryland, we’re in the fight for marriage equality,” she said.

Written by Nathan Carrick of the Gaithersburg Patch.