Same Sex Marriage

I support same sex marriages. It's the right thing to do. It's the fair thing to do. It's the just thing to do. And I'm not just saying that because as a family lawyer it will lead to more work for me down the road :) It's an interesting issue because there are no good arguments against it. If anyone would like to suggest any, please feel free to comment. It's an interesting issue because of how politicians dance around it. We live in a democracy so if the majority of people want to pick on a minority, it's hard to find a politician brave enough to challenge the majority. That brave politician will quickly find themselves unemployed. Nothing about the argument for or against same sex marriages have changed in recent years, the change has been in public opinion. For the first time, the majority of people are in favor of it. They have realized that it's a non-issue. Same sex marriages do not affect most of us. They have literally zero impact on our day-to-day lives. Governor O'Malley came out in favor of it and the majority of votes needed to pass it through the General Assembly were found. Recently President Obama announced support for it. Now that public opinion shows a small majority in favor, politicians are able to come out of the wood work and announce their support for it. Republicans are still held captive by their conservative wings. Having spoken to quite a few local Republican politicians off-the-record, I can say that they recognize the absurdity of banning same-sex marriages. They are personally in favor of same-sex marriages but they can't step forward for fear of being bashed by their own party and voters. My prediction is that in 10-15 years, these same Republicans will be talking about how they quietly supported same-sex marriage and suppressing their shameful voting history up until now. The tides of history are marching forward. Shame on you North Carolina.

My Opponent

The Maryland Gazette published a piece about my opponent Delegate Dwyer on March 27th. I think the headline, which is a quote from my opponent, summarizes things nicely:

"I didn't come down here to pass bills."

Then what did you go down there for? His answer, "I came down here to do the people's work."

Which people exactly? All the people I know would like their representatives to do something. You don't pay plumbers to have positions about the leaky pipes, you pay them to fix the leak. You don't pay your mechanic to make angry speeches to your engine, you pay them to fix the problem. You don't pay your doctor to send a message to your liver, you pay them to heal the wounds. Why would you want to pay your representative to do nothing?

The paper was nice enough to interview me for the article. They did spell my name wrong (It's Chiappelli with two P's!). But they quoted me correctly:

"It's not gay marriage that is causing people to lose their homes."

When you want something done right, hire a professional.

Vote Chiappelli for Delegate.

Complete Waste of Time

Maryland Attorney General Doug Gansler issued an opinion today that Maryland should recognize same-sex marriages that are validly entered into in other states. Mind you this is a non-binding opinion.

I happened to be having lunch with the current delegation from the fighting 31st so I was able to hear Delegate Dwyer's reaction. He is going to seek the impeachment of Doug Gansler.

I didn't say anything at the time because, well, it seems rude to insult a man who's paying for your lunch.

But this is exactly the kind of nonsense that motivated me to run for delegate.

There is a serious budget crisis going on. People are losing their homes to foreclosures. People are losing their jobs. People are still losing their lives fighting overseas and Dwyer wants to waste the General Assembly's time on this?! A non-binding opinion?

The recognition of same-sex marriages from other states is a non-issue. It does not cost the state a dime. It does not require Maryland to do anything. It does not harm anyone.

Dwyer stated that it wasn't the opinion itself so much as the unconstitutionality of the opinion that really upsets him. This bothers me for a couple reasons.
-One: I went to law school for three years to study the constitution. Gansler's opinion is constitutional.
-Two: This is exactly the partisan fighting that does nothing productive but sucks energy and resources away from real issues. Clean air, clean water, better schools, the economy, etc.
-Three: Dwyer is pushing an extremist agenda. The good people of the fighting 31st are not extremist. Who is Dwyer really representing?

This attack is just another way to try to wedge the bedroom door open to government intrustion. I said it before and I'll say it again, the government and Dwyer have no place in my bedroom.

Protect the future: Vote Chiappelli.

Keep the Government out of the Bedroom

I've had several people ask me what I mean when I say I want to keep the government out of the bedroom. And I mean pretty much what I say. In the not-too distant past, the government determined what contraceptives were available and who could purchase them. The government determined that certain consensual relationships were forbidden.

The government then had the ability to barge into your bedroom and tell you what you could or couldn't do with your spouse. (I'm talking consensual stuff.)

That's the worst kind of government intrusion!

As a society, we've been moving away from that.

But there is a dangerous strain of extremists taking over the Republican party. Those extremists are trying to promote social conservative positions by putting the government back in your bedroom. Their wedge issue is gay marriage. Mayland law states marriage is between a man and a woman. These extremists want to go even further by essentially outlawing gay couples.

Think about that for a minute. They want to give the government the authority to regulate your bedroom. This is what they are spending their time on while the economy crashes down around us.

I don't like that one bit! If anything, we should be pushing the government out the front door of our homes, not inviting them back into our bedrooms.

Protect the future, Vote Chiappelli.