If marriage was a right, then any two people could simply declare themselves to be married, and that would be it. In fact, a couple who wants to marry first needs to get society's permission, in the form of a marriage license. Then, the couple has to go to someone legally authorized to bind them in matrimony (a clergyman, a justice of the peace, a ship's captain, etc.). Only after that legally authorized person has performed the wedding ceremony is the couple married.
That having been said, any homosexual man can apply for a license to marry a woman, and any lesbian can apply for a license to marry a man. Assuming there are no problems (for example, if nothing shows up in the blood tests), that license will probably be granted. The licensing bureau does not care about the sexual orientation of the applicants. Its only concern is, does the couple meet the qualifications of marriage, that is, is it one man and one woman?
Let me draw a parallel: Let's suppose a blind person applies for a driver's license. That application will not even be considered. Is it because of hatred or prejudice against blind people? No, it is because the applicant does not meet the qualifications. To drive a car, you have to be able to see. To get married, you have to be one man and one woman.
The entirety of recorded human history has consistently, repeatedly and invariably shown homosexual behavior to be harmful to both individuals and to society at large. On Sept. 16, 2010, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a new study that showed that about one-fifth of the homosexual and bisexual men in 21 major American cities had HIV/AIDS —and half of them didn't even realize it. (Remember that, during the 1980s and 1990s, we were continually warned that AIDS was about to break out in the general population in a big way? Of course, it never happened.) The Maryland legislature should not do anything to encourage such behavior.
Thomas M. Crawford
Laurel