Henry Heller tries to ban cousin marriage again

[khin]

Love and .... First Cousin Marriage?

So, the contest for most bizarre bill of the session may be over.
Democratic Dels. Henry Heller of Montgomery County and Joseph Vallario of Prince George’s County have introduced a bill that would both prohibit marriages between first cousins and allow them under specific circumstances. In the short synopsis released so far, those circumstances would be if both people are over the age of 65 or if one individual can show proof he or she is infertile.
At the beginning of the session I would not have anticipated a bill related to consanguinity, but the General Assembly remains – as always– an unpredictable place.

Heller is the same guy who tried to ban cousin marriage back in 2000. That time the cosponsor was a Kumar P. Barve; now it is someone else. The common denominator seems to be Henry Heller. Apparently this guy has a huge problem with the idea of cousins marrying. I'm going to write to the Maryland legislature and sound off about this, and write a blog post on places like Firedoglake and Corrente. I want to see this nonsense stopped and stopped for good.

By the way, the writer of the blog post above shows how ignorant people are about this issue in America today. More than ten percent of the world is married to a first or second cousin, but this writer thinks the issue is not just bizarre, but the most bizarre bill of this legislative session. The fact is that this issue is not bizarre at all. It's just shunned in America.

EDIT: POSTING SOME INFO

Here is the bill's online status.

Write to these people on Maryland's Senate Judiciary Committee:

Appointed by Senate President:
Brian E. Frosh, Chair (410) 841-3124, (301) 858-3124
Lisa A. Gladden, Vice-Chair (410) 841-3697, (301) 858-3697

• James Brochin
  Jennie M. Forehand
  Larry E. Haines
  Nancy Jacobs
  Alex X. Mooney
  C. Anthony Muse
  Jamin B. (Jamie) Raskin
  Bryan W. Simonaire
  Norman R. Stone, Jr.

That is where it was killed last time, so is probably the best chance now.

You might also try the House Judiciary Committee:

Appointed by House Speaker:
Joseph F. Vallario, Jr., Chair (410) 841-3488, (301) 858-3488
Samuel I. Rosenberg, Vice-Chair (410) 841-3297, (301) 858-3297

• Curtis S. (Curt) Anderson
  Benjamin S. Barnes
  Jill P. Carter
  Frank M. Conaway, Jr.
  Kathleen M. Dumais
  Don H. Dwyer, Jr.
  William J. Frank
  J. B. Jennings
  Kevin Kelly
  Benjamin F. Kramer
  Susan C. Lee
  Gerron S. Levi
  Susan K. McComas
  Tony McConkey
  Victor R. Ramirez
  Todd L. Schuler
  Luiz R. S. Simmons
  Michael D. Smigiel, Sr.
  Kriselda Valderrama
  Jeffrey D. Waldstreicher

Notice that the Chair is sponsoring the bill! Very unfavorable. Apparently he has a history of opposing same-sex marriage too. Looks like he got carried away.

There is also the leadership:

Thomas V. Mike Miller, Jr., Senate President (elected by Senate) (410) 841-3700, (301) 858-3700
Nathaniel J. McFadden, President Pro Tem (elected by Senate) (410) 841-3165, (301) 858-3165
Edward J. Kasemeyer, Majority Leader (appointed by Senate President) (410) 841-3653, (301) 858-3653
Allan H. Kittleman, Minority Leader (named by Republican Senators) (410) 841-3671, (301) 858-3671

Michael E. Busch, House Speaker (elected by House of Delegates) (410) 841-3800, (301) 858-3800
e-mail: michael.busch@house.state.md.us
Adrienne A. Jones, Speaker Pro Tem (elected by House of Delegates) (410) 841-3391
Kumar P. Barve, Majority Leader (appointed by House Speaker) (410) 841-3464, (301) 858-3464
Anthony J. O'Donnell, Minority Leader (elected by Republican Delegates) (410) 841-3314, (301) 858-3314

And last but not least, Governor Martin O'Malley:

100 State Circle • Annapolis, Maryland 21401 • 410.974.3901 • 1.800.811.8336 • MD Relay 1.800.201.7165

From what I hear, Henry Heller may be retiring this year, so if this can be defeated it may stay buried for good.

[KC]

My first thoughts: "Oh No! Not again!"

Well the bill died in committee last time. If it ever gets through, it just might pass.

We may have to take up a collection for me to travel to MD and speak in their committee, or some other volunteer.

We also need to find a list of all the members of the family law committee and start firing away. Also newspapers in the area and political blogs/radio shows and tv.

[LadyC]

that was my thought too.... oh no, not again!

[Starcradle]

The rampant ignorance can indeed become frustrating.

As an irrelevant aside, I horribly misread the title of this thread: Helen Keller tries to ban cousin marriage again.

 

[LadyC]

LOL

[KC]

Looks like I will have to change the state law map AGAIN 

Pretty soon we will be the the gays and lesbians trying to find a state that will marry us.
 

[ColoradoMarried]

Am I the only one who finds it ironic that the very next bill Vallario co-sponsored has this for a synopsis:

[size=medium]Prohibiting discrimination based on gender identity with regard to public accommodations, housing, and employment and by specified licensed or regulated persons; prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity with regard to commercial leasing; altering an exception for employers relating to standards concerning dress and grooming; providing specified immunity; requiring State personnel actions to be made without regard to gender identity or sexual orientation; defining the term "gender identity"; etc.[/size]

[ColoradoMarried]

I don't expect a reply, but I sent this:

Mr. Vallario,[/size]

I am writing to ask for clarification and justification of your co-sponsorship of HB 1020, a bill that would prohibit marriage of first cousins.  My wife and I are first cousins, both of our teen daughters were born in Prince George's county, and both are in perfect health.

You must know that I am not from some back-woods area, I'm not some uneducated hillbilly or whatever you must be thinking by now.  I'm an educated military officer on active duty.  I'm currently working toward a Master of Divinity at a major theological seminary.  My wife has a Masters in Business Administration.  Our eldest daughter outperforms her peers on standardized tests, always in the high 90th percentile range on all categories.  Our youngest also exceeds the averages for her age group and is exceptionally talented in the arts.  I suspect by now that we are not the picture of the typical "cousin marriage" family you might have guessed us to be.

Given that your bill includes an exception for sterility, I am forced to conclude that your concern is genetic. In this case, I implore you to get all of the facts.  I find it hard to believe that cousin marriage has gotten so rampant in Maryland that it would even be noticed, but even if it were 1 in 20 marriages (the actual rate is much, much less, closer to about 1 in 2000), I fail to see evidence to support your concern.

If your objection is moral/religious, I then encourage you to seek clarification from any or all of the predominate religious texts, including the Holy Bible, the Qu'ran, and the Torah.

I will be happy to make myself available to discuss this at your convenience.

[Piers]

If Heller thinks this law will prevent cousin couples from being together or from having children, he grossly underestimates the power of love. We know than many cousin couples will do whatever it takes to overcome impediments to their union.
 
It seems to me that the only effect of this legislation on committed first cousin couples would be to force them to either marry in another state or to live together unmarried. As soon as the couple have had the number of children they want to complete their family, one of them can be sterilised and then they could marry or have their marriage recognised in Maryland. This law would be an irritant, but not a serious impediment to a committed couple.
 
Fortunatly the proposed legislation does not prohibit a first cousin couple from having sex and nor does it prohibit a woman from undergoing artificial insemination using sperm from her first cousin.
 
Since it does not prohibit the means of conception the proposed legislation is clearly not a serious attempt to prevent the conception of children by first cousins. However it is hard to see what other compelling interest the sponsors might advance which would justify attempting to deny citizens their right to marriage and family life.

[KC]

Here is the link to the state house: http://mlis.state.md.us/2010rs/billfile/HB1021.htm

You can click on the bill for more info.

Man I do not want to watch this bill as it moves closer to enactment.

I just read where the bill makes it also a criminal offense to marry a cousin. Who wants that misdemeanor on their record? You can get up to 2 yrs in jail in this state for misdemeanors, but probably end up with probation and a fine.

The last time, I guess since Christie and others were on TV, we had A LOT of support fighting these same delegates. We even sent each person on the committee the book, Forbidden Relatives.

This time we are doing nothing at all. Only 100 people have even read this post.

If someone wants to come up with a few G's I could go in person to speak at a public hearing. I'm not even sure how all of that works. There is some kind of hearing on the 25th I think it said. Not sure if that one is public.

The whole thing is sickening to me. These delegates HATE freedom. They want to dictate every aspect of our lives right down to the most fundamental things of all.

If I lived closer, I would straighten every last one of them out 

[KC]

Very good! You should sent it to everyone in that committee.

I don't expect a reply, but I sent this:

[KC]

Henry Heller, a Democratic delegate, or state representative, says he wants to bring Maryland "into the enlightened world of other states such as West Virginia and Arkansas" that already prohibit unions of first cousins.

http://wtop.com/?nid=456&sid=1891684

[ivy_poet]

http://wtop.com/?nid=456&sid=1891684

I just saw the same article on MSN.com.  I think this webpage may be getting more visitors in the near future as more people see the article.  Of course, the article didn't mention this webpage (or indeed, any webpage with accurate information on playing "roulette" with cousin couples' offspring).

I am SO ANGRY.  I don't live in MD, I live in VA which fortunately has not decided to do this yet.  Also, this is my first post.  I was so angry about this bill that I registered for the forums so I could be heard!  A little about myself: my husband and I are first cousins, once removed.  Before we hit it off romantically, I'd met him all of 3 times in my entire life, none of which I actually recall.  You try remembering someone in particular when you have 50+ cousins!  Every doctor I have ever talked to has said that the risk for birth defects is marginal.  Now that I'm pregnant, my OBGYN is having us go to a genetic counselor as a precaution.

This Heller jerk is the epitome of ignorance.  His bigotry is obviously blinding him to the facts.

Is there anything I can do?  Write letters, tell friends...anything else?

[khin]

Posted at Corrente:

http://www.correntewire.com/please_help_stop_marylands_ban_cousin_marriage

Also on Firedoglake:

http://seminal.firedoglake.com/diary/30646

[khin]

It might be helpful if Cousin Couples did a press release. News organizations are more likely to cover the story if they have current material to work with. And the more they cover it, the more stupid arguments of "Cousin marriage is like playing genetic roulette" will fall apart. AP released a story but it was very short and didn't have any opposing arguments. Give them something to work with.

How to write a press release:
http://www.prwebdirect.com/pressreleasetips.php

I could even write a first draft if needed.