Positive Liberty

The Washington Post condemns Maryland Governor Robert Ehrlich for vetoing the Medical Decision Making Act:

The bill, passed by the General Assembly this year, is the kind of gay rights measure that even opponents of gay marriage ought to welcome — a recognition that unmarried couples exist, love one another and make key decisions during illness and death. Mr. Ehrlich had expressed sympathy with the bill’s purpose. Yet the politics that surround gay rights are fierce, and Mr. Ehrlich’s conservative base opposes the bill aggressively. Earlier last week, Mr. Ehrlich’s aides were talking about problems with the bill. By Friday, he had caved and vetoed it, saying it would “open the door to undermine the sanctity of traditional marriage.”

The bill would allow unmarried couples — same-sex and straight — to register with the state health department as life partners. It would guarantee registered partners basic rights when one is ill, dying or dead. They would have the ability to visit one another in hospitals, to make medical decisions when the other is unable to do so (and has not separately designated a decision maker), to authorize autopsies and to make funeral arrangements. In emergency situations, the bill would also ensure visitation rights to unregistered life partners…

Mr. Ehrlich made clear that his primary objection was that the bill created a formal status for same-sex life partnerships. “It is the predicate to domestic partnerships, which is the predicate to gay marriage,” Ehrlich said, while also suggesting that he would push legislation of his own to address the problem. “I’m going to protect marriage… It’s not debatable.”

And so marriage shall be “protected”–from the menace of gay people visiting their sick partners in the hospital. You can bet that if this veto stands, even more gays and lesbians will be denied medical and visitation rights, despite filling out paperwork designed to secure them. The veto sends a message, and Maryland’s overzealous hospital administrators will be certain to hear it.

Congratulations to the Post, at least, for noticing this and for making the right call.

Trackback URI |