Wedding Ceremonies, Rally Mark New Same-Sex Marriage Law in Maryland

The long-awaited enactment of Maryland’s Civil Marriage Protection Act on Jan. 1 saw a number of same-sex marriages across the state, including the union between two Silver Spring women.

The wedding of Ruth Siegel and Nina Nethery was one of a number of same-sex ceremonies profiled in a recent Washington Post story about New Year’s Day weddings. The couple’s ceremony began virtually as soon as the law took effect, at 12:02 a.m., with each participant wearing a baseball cap that read either Bride One or Bride Two.

Nethery explained the importance of marriage to her. “When we have an argument, I always think about splitting up and leaving. But I’ve been married before and I remember this phenomenon. It changes your perception on how you work through problems, because running away is no longer an option,” she said.

A similar story in the Huffington Post profiled a few couples married by Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, who described true marriage as “the dearest of all earthly relationships” during one ceremony.

While same-sex couples continued to exercise their newly acquired rights, others rallied against those who would take away those rights.

As reported by Annapolis Patch, four members of Kansas’ Westboro Baptist Church went to Annapolis to offer their controversial opinion on gay marriage, but were greeted by more than 250 counterprotesters who passed out cookies and raised signs in support of same-sex marriage.