Maryland lawmakers on Wednesday rejected an effort to prohibit the state from recognizing same-sex marriages lawfully performed elsewhere. Del. Emmett C. Burns, a Baltimore County Democrat and minister, had proposed that the state, which does not allow same-sex unions, pass a law explicitly declaring such marriages illegal, even when performed in another state. The Burns proposal was seen as a pre-emptive strike against a legal opinion that state Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler has been working on since a senator requested it last year. Top lawmakers have predicted that Gansler will allow same-sex marriages to be recognized in Maryland, following the state's legal tradition of recognizing unions, including common-law marriages, that are illegal in Maryland but lawful elsewhere.

- Julie Bykowicz

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