Today, February 16, 2012 is a very important day for Marylanders with marriage on their minds.

On Valentine's Day, sufficient votes in two committees enabled House Bill 438, the Civil Marriage Protection Act, to proceed to the floor of the House of Delegates. House Bill 438 enables individuals to marry and includes marriage between individuals of the same sex as a legal union.

This evening, the House of Delegates is expected to vote on whether same sex marriage will be a part of Maryland law. If the House of Delegates votes in favor of House Bill 438, then it is very likely that the Senate will also pass the same bill, numbered Senate Bill 240.

If the Civil Marriage Protection Act passes, Governor O'Malley indicated he will sign the bill into law. Maryland will join several other states that have already enacted this new policy.

There are many strong feelings on both sides of this issue and even if the law is passed by the General Assembly and signed by Governor O'Malley, there may be future challenges to the law.

I hope that all Marylanders will think about this issue, not only in terms of same sex couples, but what marriage means to all of us personally and for society.

Tomorrow morning we will see in the news how our elected officials voted on this critical issue.

For more information about how the legislature works, please see my article entitled 'Advancing Your Agenda: Effective Advocacy in Annapolis.'

At the Law Offices of Cynthia M. Lifson, we are interested in how legislation affects family law issues. We believe staying current with the law will benefit you.

We welcome your participation in the discussions on this blog. Feel free to comment on posts that interest you.

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Attorney Cynthia M. Lifson has more than 15 years of experience helping clients through the divorce process and with other family legal disputes. Contact our office online or call us at 410-988-4209 or toll free at 866-505-2759 for more information on how we can help you in find equitable and timely solutions to your family law issue.