Delegate Dwyer Prays Gay Marriage Away

Same sex marriage is nearly a reality in Maryland and requires only passage by the House of Delegates to reach the Governor, who has assured he will sign such legislation. Passage seems to be very close to a certainty, though the vote counts are still not solidly in favor of passage or rejection. But It seems that one man remains the main bulwark against the encroachment of same-sex marriage. That man is Delegate Donald Dwyer.

Yes, Delegate Dwyer, the same man who introduced a personhood amendment that may have made miscarriages subject to criminal investigations, likes to hand out pamphlets from MassResistance (known all too well by the Southern Poverty Law Center), and tried to impeach the state’s attorney general for issuing the opinion that out of state same sex marriages should be recognized by the state government. That guy. But now gays everywhere should be quaking in their boots because Delegate Dwyer has pulled out the big guns. He’s using prayer:

Del. Donald H. Dwyer Jr. (R-Anne Arundel) offered his testimony in the form of a prayer in which he urged his colleagues not "to redefine and destroy forever the God-ordained institution of marriage."

Apparently Del. Dwyer has a penchant for praying during his allotted speaking time. According to fellow Del Richard Weldon, while introducing the personhood amendment to committee Del. Dwyer:

... opened his testimony in the committee hearing with a prayer. He prayed that God would open our ears to hear the truth, that our eyes would be opened to reality. We’ve never had a committee meeting open with a prayer. I found it odd, not the least bit comforting, as prayer normally is for me.

Should this bill somehow survive such an onslaught of talking to invisible beings opponents of same-sex marriage still have an ace up their sleeve: voter referendum. In fact several groups have resigned themselves to this eventuality and focused their attention on gathering signatures. If the signatures are approved the law will be held in abeyance until the 2012 election. And then we have an east coast version of Prop 8 all over again.

And if Del Dwyer is ultimately unsuccessful, at least he got a nice birthday card from Equality Maryland.