JPG: Maryland Marriage Equality Opponents Distribute Lawnsigns in Spanish // PLUS: Sam Arora Sighting & More

Below Maryland Juice provides a mash-up of a few interesting tidbits regarding marriage equality (Question 6) and LGBT rights.

JUICE #1: ANTI-MARRIAGE EQUALITY FORCES DISTRIBUTE SPANISH LAWNSIGNS - Maryland Juice photographed a Spanish-language lawnsign that the anti-civil rights forces have been distributing. I guess the rightwing "English-only" push in Maryland is on hold until after the election. Notably, a majority of Latinos now support marriage equality: 52% to 32%. See the divisive sign below (caption courtesy of Juice):

JUICE #2: SAM ARORA READER SIGHTING - Meanwhile, if you're curious what's going on with embattled anti-marriage equality Delegate Sam Arora, you're not the only one. After all, 2014 is just around the corner, and Arora's constituents are still demanding an explanation on his civil rights flip-flop. Unfortunately, many of them still haven't had the opportunity to question him. District 19 candidate debates in 2014 ought to be fun! See the quick field report below:

ANONYMOUS READER: Ghost sighting.... Well, not really, but I was at a debate this afternoon at Leisure World for the school board candidates (At-Large and Districts 2 and 4) when who walked in about 2/3 of the way through but Sam Arora! I was hoping to talk to him afterward and ask him about his gay marriage switcheroo - which he has never explained the reasons for to constituents such as myself -- but he left before the debate was over. Not sure why he was there.

JUICE #3: FLASHBACK TO 2010 // VETERAN TEACHER FIRED FROM BALTIMORE CATHOLIC SCHOOL FOR BEING "UNCHASTE" - A Maryland Juice reader has forwarded us an interesting contrast to the current controversy surrounding the suspension of Gallaudet's "diversity and inclusion provost." As you may have heard, the D.C.-based University is weighing the fate of their employee Angela McCaskill, after she signed a petition calling for the marriage rights of same-sex couples to be put to a popular vote. Arguably, McCaskill violated the school's established "credo" of discouraging "behaviors and attitudes that disrespect the diversity of individuals and groups for any reason including ... sexual orientation."

Many have been quick to defend McCaskill, arguing that her private views and behavior should be protected. But when it comes to individual freedom and free association rights, it appears that many on the right are content to err on the side of protecting those who seek to advance discrimination over those who are the victims of said discrimination. As one example, a reader has sent us a story about a veteran teacher at a Baltimore Catholic school who was terminated in 2010 for being "unchaste." When's the last time you heard of a straight person being fired for the same reason? In any case, below see a quick explanation from our reader, followed by a column written by the fired teacher:

ANONYMOUS READER: See the attached copy of the New Ways Ministry newsletter published in Spring 2010.  Below you will find a first person story penned by April Flores, describing how she was terminated from her job as a teacher at the Sacred Heart of Mary School after administrators from the Archdiocese of Baltimore discovered that she had wed her female partner in Washington DC in July 2009.  She describes a humilitating process of going through a "hearing" to try to keep her job, and includes some of the language that was used in the correspondence that was used to terminate her: “behavior that seriously offends the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Baltimore [and I] failed to uphold the moral values of chastity.”

Seriously, they terminated a 25-year veteran teacher, who apparently was valued by the community she served, because the Archdiocese was "offended", and because she was not chaste.  It is not clear how the Archdiocese knew Ms. Flores was unchaste (hard to imagine how they gathered this data), and interesting that we seldom (never ?) hear of heterosexual folks being terminated due to lack of chastity.

Below, read a column by April Flores, a teacher who was fired from Baltimore's Sacred Heart of Mary School in 2010 (via BaltimoreOutLoud.com & New Ways Ministry):

APRIL FLORES: I’m Catholic and I used to proudly celebrate Catholic Schools Week; however, due to a collision of my religion and my personal life, I did not participate in this year’s festivities. I devoted over twenty-five years of my life to Catholic education and was only married to my wife, Jennifer Simmons, for one month before the Archdiocese of Baltimore (AOB) involuntarily terminated my contract.

Baltimore Jewish Council Questions Sen. Anthony Muse's Controversial Campaign Flyer // News Coverage Snowballing

FLYERGATE NEWS COVERAGE SNOWBALLS: A few days ago Maryland Juice posted a copy of controversial campaign literature from U.S. Senate candidate Anthony Muse. The State Senator from Prince George's was distributing a sample ballot that urged voters to support an Obama-Muse ticket. Notably, President Obama has endorsed Sen. Ben Cardin for re-election. But more importantly, Muse's literature is generating heated criticism for highlighting the number of Jewish members of the U.S. Senate. Apparently this is not the first time he has employed this tactic.

The Washington Post today picked up the story and noted a non-response from Senator Muse:

Obama may be backing Cardin but that has not stopped Muse from seeking to link himself to the president. His campaign has distributed a “sample ballot” — a copy of which was posted online by the blog Maryland Juice — that says “Obama Muse Making History Together,” with pictures of the two men side by side. The same sample ballot includes a chart showing the composition of the U.S. Senate, noting that the chamber it has no African Americans. The chart also shows that there are 12 Jewish members of the Senate, even though Jews make up roughly 2 percent of the U.S. population. Cardin is Jewish, though the ballot does not mention that fact.

The flier drew criticism this week from the liberal group People for the American Way, which suggested on its blog that the chart “seems to go out of its way to imply there are too many Jews in the Senate. What legitimate reason is there to include a count of Jews in this tally, when there is no count of any other religious group?” Asked about the chart Wednesday, Muse dismissed the criticism.said, “This is nothing more than an attempt to be negative.”

MUSE KEEPS RAISING JEWISH REPRESENTATION, JEWS OFFENDED - The Baltimore Sun's John Fritze today noted that the head of the Baltimore Jewish Council is now questioning Sen. Muse's campaign literature:

The head of the Baltimore Jewish Council raised questions Wednesday about a campaign flyer from Democratic Senate candidate C. Anthony Muse that notes that there are no African-Americans serving in the U.S. Senate but that there are 12 Jews.

Muse, a state senator from Prince George's County is black. He is running against incumbent Democratic Sen. Ben Cardin, who is Jewish. The primary takes place Tuesday.

"I'm not happy with it," said Arthur C. Abramson, the council's executive director. "I would ask the candidate why the only religion he identified is Jewish...."

It's a contrast the campaign has drawn previously. Earlier this year Muse used his Twitter account to highlight a link to an article that discussed the number of Jews in the Senate. The campaign later deleted the tweet after it was noted by reporters.

Asked about the flyer, Muse campaign spokeswoman Brandi Calhoun said in an e-mail that it is "misleading and inaccurate, therefore we will have a response to that at the appropriate time."

The campaign did not respond when asked to clarify whether the Muse campaign had actually distributed the flyer or whether a third party was involved.

NO CAMPAIGN FINANCE REPORTS FROM MUSE? - The Baltimore Sun article also notes that Muse's campaign has not filed any campaign finance reports with the FEC:

Muse's campaign, meanwhile, has never filed a campaign finance report with the Federal Election Commission as other candidates did last week. Calhoun said that Muse was not required to do so because he established his candidacy in February, late in the cycle. 

It's not clear why Muse's February entrance would exempt him from filing the pre-primary report, which was due March 22. The campaign did not respond to a follow up question seeking clarification.

Maryland Juice would point out that according to Anthony Muse's own campaign website, he became a candidate for the U.S. Senate on January 5th, 2011 and was in exploratory mode prior to that:

OY VEY!

VIDEOS: Montgomery County Councilmember Valerie Ervin & Religious Leaders Defend Marriage Equality

VIDEO: Rev. Al Sharpton on Gay Marriage in Maryland: "None of Our Business" // "Do The Right Thing"

Catholic Bishops Enter Maryland Marriage Equality Fight // Unitarian Religious Rights Trampled

The Baltimore Sun today reports that the Catholic Church is aggressively stepping into the Maryland marriage equality debate. It is worth noting that Maryland Juice is an uncompromising supporter of full marriage equality (as a civil rights issue -- gasp -- I said it!), and that I was raised in a Catholic household (baptised and confirmed). But I am not so unusual. A poll earlier this year noted:

It’s a popular stereotype that Catholics are more conservative than their Protestant counterparts, but a new report reveals that Catholics are more supportive of gay and lesbian rights than the general population and other Christians.

Given this obvious and growing divide between some Catholics and church doctrine, I was dismayed to see this news report:

With legislation to legalize same-sex marriage expected in the General Assembly, Maryland's Roman Catholic bishops are calling on parishioners to act against the proposal and other measures that they say threaten "religious liberty." 

In a 16-page statement sent to parishes throughout the state, the bishops say a same-sex marriage law would lead to violations of First Amendment rights.... 

In their statement, the bishops acknowledged that no legislation has been proposed that would force a priest to marry a same-sex couple....

I've always found religious arguments against marriage equality to be specious and full of inconsistencies. Here's why. Whose religious beliefs are being subverted? The Catholic Church above admits that Maryland marriage equality would change nothing about their operations. In the meantime, Unitarians adopted a pro-marriage equality position in 1996. So for 15 years, the government of Maryland has prevented that church from granting legal marriages to same-sex couples -- even though that is within their church doctrine:

Because Unitarian Universalists affirm the inherent worth and dignity of every person; and

Because marriage is held in honor among the blessings of life....

THEREFORE be it resolved that the 1996 General Assembly of the Unitarian Universalist Association adopts a position in support of legal recognition for marriage between members of the same sex

Whose religious rights are being violated?