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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Equality Maryland Issues 2009 Legislative Session Scorecard


CONTACT:
Scott Davenport, Board President
Office: 301 587-7500

Annapolis - Equality Maryland released today its 2009 legislative scorecard, which assigns a numerical score on issues related to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) equality to the 141 Delegates and 47 Senators serving in the Maryland General Assembly. Issues scored include equal marriage rights for same-gender couples, gender identity anti-discrimination legislation, and a repeal of the inheritance tax for domestic partners. The scorecard can be downloaded at http://www.equalitymaryland.org/legislation/scorecard_2009.pdf.

"Our legislative scorecard is an important tool for individuals who care about the votes their legislators are casting - or not casting - when it comes to making lives better for LGBT people," said Board President Scott Davenport.

The 2009 scorecard confirms that members of the House of Delegates are friendlier to LGBT issues than the more conservative Senate. Only a handful of Republicans racked up supportive votes, and several Democrats scored dismally low scores. Geographically, Montgomery County's legislators have the highest scores, followed by Baltimore City. Prince George's County is home to both some of the friendliest Democrats, as well as the least friendly. More details and analysis are below.

"As states from New Hampshire and Vermont to Nevada and Iowa surpass Maryland in their legal treatment of LGBT people," said Davenport, "this scorecard is an important signpost for the upcoming 2010 election in Maryland and the need to sweep out archaic, old-school thinking in favor of a new generation of leaders who put justice before prejudice and politics."

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Equality Maryland is Maryland's largest LGBT civil rights organization, focused on making life better for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender citizens of Maryland. Equality Maryland works to secure and protect the rights of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Marylanders by promoting legislative initiatives on the state, county and municipal levels and educating the public about the issues faced by our diverse community.

Equality Maryland can be found online at www.equalitymaryland.org.

ABOUT THE SCORES

Maryland Senate

14 of 47 Senators scored 0.

  • This included one Democrat - Sen. James E. DeGrange, Sr. of Anne Arundel County.
  • This included legislators from Allegheny, Garrett, Frederick and Washington Counties in Western Maryland; the Eastern Shore; Carroll County, Baltimore County, Harford County, Cecil County, and Anne Arundel County.

An addition 3 of 47 Senators scored 10.
  • This included three Prince George's County Democrats - Sens. Ulysses Currie, C. Anthony Muse and Doug Peters - and one St. Mary's County Democrat, Sen. Roy Dyson.

1 of 14 Republicans scored higher than 0.
  • Senator Allan Kittleman of Howard and Carroll Counties scored 50.

8 of 47 Senators scored a perfect 100.
  • These 8 legislators are all Democrats.
  • Four are from Montgomery County - Sens. Rich Madaleno, Jamie Raskin, Mike Lennett, and Jennie Forehand.
  • One is from Prince George's County - Sen. Paul Pinsky
  • Three are from Baltimore City - Sens. Nathaniel McFadden, Catherine Pugh, and Lisa Gladden.

The average score of Maryland's Democratic Senate Caucus is 60.

Maryland House of Delegates

29 of 141 Delegates scored 0.
  • These legislators are all Republicans.
  • This included legislators from Allegheny, Garrett, Frederick and Washington Counties in Western Maryland; the Eastern Shore; Carroll County, Baltimore County, Harford County, Cecil County, and Anne Arundel County.

An addition 10 of 141 Delegates scored 5 or 10.
  • Four are Republicans.
  • Six are Democrats: Prince George's County Delegates Aisha Braveboy, Dereck Davis, and Carolyn Howard; Charles & St. Mary's County Delegate John Wood; and Washington County Democrat John Donoghue. (Prince George's & Calvert Counties Delegate James Proctor's low score may be reflected by his absence during portions of session.)

3 of 36 Republicans scored higher than 40.
  • Delegates Wade Kach (Baltimore County), Donald Elliott (Carroll & Frederick Counties), and Robert Costa (Anne Arundel County) scored 45 or 50.

40 of 141 Delegates scored 95 or a perfect 100.
  • These 40 legislators are all Democrats.
  • Half are from Montgomery County.
  • Nine are from Prince George's County (with three of these nine also representing portions of Anne Arundel County).
  • Eight are from Baltimore City.
  • Three are from Baltimore and Howard Counties.

The average score of Maryland's Democratic House Caucus is 72.