The story begins with a request from Sen. Delores Kelley.

             She asked me to introduce in the House a bill she was sponsoring in the Senate – a crossfile in the legislative lexicon.

             She has done this for me on several occasions; so I said yes. 

             Senate Bill 216/House Bill 164 would repeal the requirement that a marriage license be issued by the clerk of the county in which the marriage is performed. 

             A couple that lives or works in the Baltimore metropolitan area may be getting married elsewhere.  It’s an inconvenience to go to a distant clerk’s office.

             A staff member told me that a rumor was circulating that my bill was a Trojan horse.

             It would pass the committee and then a marriage equality amendment would transform it on the House floor. 

             “The thought hasn’t crossed my mind,” I replied.  

               Truth be known, I relish such strategic maneuvers, but I didn’t think of it this time.

               Then a reporter called.  “Is the bill prompted by concerns that a clerk of the court might not issue a license to a same-sex couple?”

               “Not the case,” I answered. 

                There was no mention of my bill in the newspaper story.