Maryland's
highest court hears same-sex marriage arguments Monday

A lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Maryland's ban on same-sex marriage came before the state's highest court in Annapolis on Monday, with an attorney for the plaintiffs arguing that marriage is a fundamental right. The state argued that the question should be left to the state legislature. "The general assembly is the proper forum to weigh these issues," said Robert Zarnoch, counsel to the general assembly. A Baltimore circuit judge ruled in January that Maryland's 1973 law defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman was unconstitutional. The state immediately appealed that ruling to the Maryland court of appeals. "The exclusion of same-sex couples from marriage violates the most fundamental guarantees of equality and liberty for all," said Kenneth Choe, who represents the 19 plaintiffs. The plaintiffs are nine gay couples and a man whose male partner has died. (Ben Nuckols, AP)