Good News!

So first, J and I went shopping last night and bought nearly $500 worth of alcohol!  No, i'ts not what you think.  We're not lushes.  (Well, J is, I'm not.)  Twice a year, one of our local (and favorite) wine shops promotes "Dollar Days" - when everything in the store is $1 above cost!  Wow!  So we decided this would be an ideal time to purchase our Champagne for the ceremony.  So $300 of our spending was for 3 cases of Champagne :) Only $200 was for our personal consumption.  Our liquor cabinet is well-stocked for the first time in a looooong time (we had no money for the last "Dollar Days" 6 months ago).

In other ceremony news, however, MD is one step closer to actually recognizing our union!  Today, Attorney General Doug Gansler released his long-awaited opinion regarding out-of-state same sex marriage recognition in  MD.  And it looks good for us!  His opinion is that there is really nothing stopping MD from recognizing out-of-state same sex marriages, even though MD law states that only male-female, monogamous relationships are recognized.  His opinion, however, is based on past precedents: 1.) Common law marriages - which are not legal in MD - are recognized when the couple has a common law marriage from a previous state of residence, and 2.) A Rhode Island uncle and niece have their marriage recognized in MD, despite the fact that MD law does not allow for blood relative unions.

While this is great news for us - it's just the beginning of an uphill battle for sure.  No doubt Republicans are already working hard to create a bill that would preclude this decision from getting off the ground.  Likewise, the Democrats are no doubt crafting bills which will ensure protections for out-of-state same sex married couples.  We'll see.  One thing's for sure: this is a good step in the right direction!

I do wonder what Ron George thinks of all of this? :)  I just sent off the email (a slightly edited version of what I posted in my last post) to him this morning, complete with an attachment of a 2008 Swedish study that showed differences between gay and straight brains.  I'll let you know if he responds!