By John Wagner, Friday, May 20, 2005; 2:50 PMMaryland Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. has decided to veto emotionally charged legislation that would grant unmarried couples, including gay partners, certain rights if they register with the state.
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"Phone calls are pouring into our office from people across the state who are shocked, hurt and dismayed at how such a moderate piece of legislation conferring basic human rights could be rejected by a supposedly moderate governor," said Dan Furmansky, executive director of Equality Maryland, a gay-rights group that lobbied for the legislation, known as the Medical Decision Making Act of 2005.
Ehrlich won praise from a leading Republican lawmaker for making a "principled decision."
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A group of conservative activists had launched a petition drive in recent weeks that sought to repeal the bill if it became law. They argued it was part of a "homosexual agenda" advancing in Annapolis.
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"I'm sympathetic to certain situations, particularly end-of-life situations," Ehrlich said during a radio interview on Baltimore's WBAL. But he said that the bill had flaws and that letting it become law "is just something I have to weigh."
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SONOFABITCH!