Opinion ID: 2297178
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Applying Lex Loci Celebrationis to the Parties' Valid Foreign Same-Sex Marriage

Text: Henderson, Fensterwald, and the other cases considered above demonstrate that Maryland courts will recognize liberally valid foreign marriages. See also Frey v. Frey, 298 Md. 552, 560, 471 A.2d 705, 709 (1984) ([N]o state interest exists in preserving a marriage in which the relationship has broken down irretrievably.). The parties' California same-sex marriage is valid. Therefore, in order for their marriage to be valid for purposes of whether Maryland will adjudicate its dissolution, it must not run afoul of either exception to lex loci celebrationis: that is, it cannot be prohibited by statute or repugnant to the public policies of Maryland. For the following reasons, Port's and Cowan's entitlement, on this record, to a Maryland divorce from their California same-sex marriage is not prohibited, as a matter of law and on this record, by these exceptions. [14] Regarding the statutory prohibition exception, Family Law Article § 2-201 does not forbid expressly valid-where-formed foreign same-sex marriages. The plain wording of § 2-201 provides that [o]nly a marriage between a man and a woman is valid in this State. It does not preclude from recognition same-sex marriages solemnized validly in another jurisdiction, only those sought-to-be, or actually, performed in Maryland. To preclude the former from being valid, the statute in question must express a clear mandate voiding such marriages and abrogating the common law. Molesworth v. Brandon, 341 Md. 621, 630, 672 A.2d 608, 613 (1996) (`[A]bsent a statute expressing a clear mandate of public policy, there ordinarily is no violation of [it].' (quoting Watson v. People's Ins. Co., 322 Md. 467, 478, 588 A.2d 760, 765 (1991))); Azarian v. Witte, 140 Md.App. 70, 95, 779 A.2d 1043, 1057 (2001) (citing Robinson v. State, 353 Md. 683, 693, 728 A.2d 698, 702-03 (1999)). Moreover, we note that same-sex marriages are not listed in Family Law Article § 2-202 as among those marriages considered void. Other states intending to prevent recognition of valid foreign same-sex marriages have done so expressly and clearly, rather than by implication, subtlety, or indirection. For example, the Pennsylvania Code provides, A marriage between persons of the same sex which was entered into in another state or foreign jurisdiction, even if valid where entered into, shall be void in this Commonwealth. 23 Pa. Cons.Stat. § 1704 (LexisNexis through 2011). The Virginia Code provides, Any marriage entered into by persons of the same sex in another state or jurisdiction shall be void in all respects in Virginia and any contractual rights created by such marriage shall be void and unenforceable. Va.Code Ann. § 20-45.2 (LexisNexis through 2011). The Missouri Statute provides, A marriage between persons of the same sex will not be recognized for any purpose in this state even when valid where contracted. Mo. Rev.Stat. § 451.022(4) (LexisNexis through 96th General Assembly). [15] The language of § 2-201, by comparison, fails to void for present purposes valid foreign same-sex marriages. On at least eight occasions, the Maryland General Assembly failed to amend § 2-201 to preclude valid out-of-state same-sex marriages from being recognized in Maryland. For example, during the 2010 legislative session, House Bill 90 (cross-filed with Senate Bill 852) sought to add the following language to § 2-201: A marriage between two individuals of the same sex that is validly entered into in another state or foreign country is not valid in this State. H.B. 90, 2010 Leg., 427th Sess. (Md.2010) (died in a House committee). Similar amendments have failed to become law on at least seven other occasions, by our count. See H.B. 693, 2005 Leg., 420th Sess. (Md.2005) (died in a House committee); H.B. 728, 2004 Leg., 418th Sess. (Md.2004) (died in a House committee); H.B. 531, 2001 Leg., 415th Sess. (Md.2001) (died in a House committee); H.B. 1128, 1999 Leg., 413th Sess. (Md.1999) (died in a House committee); S.B. 565, 1998 Leg., 412th Sess. (Md. 1998) (passed on third reading in the Senate, but died in a House committee with an unfavorable report); H.B. 398, 1997 Leg., 411th Sess. (Md.1997) (died in a House committee); H.B. 1268, 1996 Leg., 410th Sess. (Md.1996) (died in a House committee). This pattern permits an inference, which we take, that the General Assembly intended the doctrine of comity regarding foreign same-sex marriages to remain the proper analysis to employ here. See Potomac Valley Orthopaedic Assocs. v. Md. State Bd. of Physicians, 417 Md. 622, 639-41, 12 A.3d 84, 94-95 (2011) (citations omitted). We conclude also that the parties' same-sex marriage is not repugnant to Maryland public policy, as that term is understood properly in applying the doctrine of comity in modern times. Admittedly, public policy is an amorphous legal concept. [16] It is agreed, however, that wherever found and identified, that public policy prohibits generally conduct that injures or tends to injure the public good. Md.-Nat'l Capital Park & Planning Comm'n v. Wash. Nat'l Arena, 282 Md. 588, 605-06, 386 A.2d 1216, 1228 (1978) (quoting Egerton v. Brownlow, 4 H.L. Cas. 1, 196 (1853)). The primary sources of public policy (and where typically we look to divine it) are the State's constitution, statutes, administrative regulations, and reported judicial opinions. Adler v. Am. Standard Corp., 291 Md. 31, 45, 432 A.2d 464, 472 (1981) (quoting Md.-Nat'l Capital Park & Planning Comm'n, 282 Md. at 605-06, 386 A.2d at 1228). Although courts are not confined to these emanations of public policy in their search, secondary sources are perceived generally as less persuasive. See Adler, 291 Md. at 45, 432 A.2d at 472. The bar in meeting the repugnancy standard is set intentionally very high, as demonstrated in Fensterwald and Henderson. In the former case, this Court recognized an uncle-niece marriage solemnized in Rhode Island, despite the fact that it would be void and a misdemeanor had it been attempted to be formed in Maryland. Fensterwald, 129 Md. at 139, 98 A. at 360. In the latter case, we ruminated, in dictum, that a valid interracial marriage solemnized in another jurisdiction would be deemed invalid in Maryland. [17] The dictum in Henderson has been discredited, Conaway, 401 Md. at 304 n. 66, 932 A.2d at 622 n. 66, and the anti-miscegenation statute repealed, 1967 Md. Laws 6. For present purposes, however, the dictum demonstrates how elevated a standard repugnancy is. At the time of Henderson, interracial marriage was condemned by statute (an infamous crime) and carried a severe penaltyimprisonment for not less than eighteen months and not more than ten years. Md.Code (1935), Art. 27 § 365, repealed by 1967 Md. Laws 6. By comparison, a same-sex marriage performed in Maryland does not carry for the couple (or the celebrant) a serious criminal penalty. See, e.g., Md.Code Ann., Fam. Law § 2-406(d)(2) (LexisNexis 2006) (providing that an individual who marries knowingly two people prohibited by Family Law Article § 2-202 is guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine). Thus, based on the Fensterwald-Henderson line of cases, we cannot conclude logically that valid out-of-state same-sex marriages are repugnant to Maryland public policy. With regard to the second exception to lex loci celebrationis, recognizing valid foreign same-sex marriages is consistent actually with Maryland public policy. Prior to the Attorney General's opinion surmising that this Court would recognize foreign same-sex marriages (valid where entered), the General Assembly enacted several laws that protect and support same-sex couples, as alluded to earlier in this opinion. An array of statutes prohibit public or private discrimination based on sexual orientation in the areas of employment, public accommodations, leasing commercial property, and housing. Md.Code Ann., State Gov't §§ 20-304, 401, 501, 606, 705, 901 (LexisNexis 2009); see also Md.Code Regs. 01.01.2007.16(A)(13) (2007) (gubernatorial executive order protecting State executive branch employees and applicants from sexual-orientation discrimination). Maryland's domestic partner statute extends to same-sex couples, who qualify as domestic partners, certain medical and decision-making rights as regards one another. [18] Md.Code Ann., Health-Gen. § 6-101 (LexisNexis 2009); see also Madeleine N. Foltz, Comment, Needlessly Fighting an Uphill Battle: Extensive Estate Planning Complications Faced by Gay and Lesbian Individuals, 40 U. Balt. L.Rev. 495, 523-24 (2011). The General Assembly granted also recordation, transfer, and inheritance tax exemptions to same-sex couples who qualify as domestic partners. Md.Code Ann., Tax-Prop. §§ 12-101(e-2), -108(c)(1)(ix), (d)(1)(ii), 13-207(a)(2)-(3) (LexisNexis Supp.2011); Md.Code Ann. Tax-Gen. § 7-203( l ) (LexisNexis 2010). Finally, this Court rejected discrimination based on sexual orientation in the context of certain family law situations. In Boswell v. Boswell, we concluded that sexual orientation of a parent ordinarily is irrelevant in a visitation dispute (unless the court finds that the child would be impacted adversely in a demonstrable way because of the parent's conduct with his/her partner in front of the child). 352 Md. 204, 237-38, 721 A.2d 662, 678 (1998); see also North v. North, 102 Md.App. 1, 16-17, 648 A.2d 1025, 1032-33 (1994) (concluding that the trial court abused its discretion by denying overnight visitation to a father based on his sexual orientation). [19] After the Attorney General published his opinion in 2010, the State of Maryland expressed a panoply of policies recognizing explicitly out-of-state same-sex marriages. See MarriageWhether Out-of-State Same-Sex Marriage That is Valid in the State of Celebration May Be Recognized in Maryland, 95 Op. Att'y Gen. Md. 3 (2010); Press Release, Statement from Governor O'Malley on Attorney General's Same Sex Marriage Recognition Opinion (24 Feb. 2010) (I expect all State agencies to work with the Attorney General's office to ensure recognition of out-of-state same-sex marriages). The Department of Budget and Management changed its paid-leave and employee-benefit policies to include same-sex spouses of eligible State employees. See Same Sex Domestic Partner and Same Sex Spouse FAQ's, Md. Dept. of Budget and Mgmt., http://dbm. maryland.gov/benefits/Documents/Same SexDPSpouseFAQs.pdf (lasted visited 16 May 2012); Important Benefit Update Concerning Same-Sex Spouses, Md. Dept. of Budget and Mgmt., http://www.dbm. maryland.gov/benefits/Pages/Benefit UpdateConcerningSame.aspx (last visited 16 May 2012). The Board of Regents of the University System of Maryland, for purposes of tuition remission and other policies, redefined spouse to be consistent with the advice given by the Office of the Attorney General. Clarification of the Definition of Spouse in BOR Policies, University System of Maryland Board of Regents (12 Sept. 2010), available at http://www.usmd.edu/BORPortal/ Materials/2010/FB/20100917/6f.pdf. Finally, the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene changed its procedure so that a female same-sex spouse (who did not give birth) can be listed as a parent without having to obtain a court order. Letter from Geneva G. Sparks, State Registrar and Deputy Director, to Birth Registrar (10 February 2011), available at http:// data.lambdalegal.org/in-court/downloads/ exec_md_20110210_ss-spouse-instructions-to-facilities.pdf. A number of other states with similar comity principles and relevant domestic marriage laws to those of Maryland have recognized foreign same-sex marriages for purposes of their domestic divorce laws. In Christiansen v. Christiansen, a same-sex couple, whose marriage was formed validly in Canada, appealed the denial of their divorce request by the courts of Wyoming. 253 P.3d 153, 154 (Wyo.2011). Wyoming has a statute limiting marriage to a man and woman, but fails to proscribe by legislation recognition of valid foreign same-sex marriages. See Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 20-1-101 (LexisNexis through 2011 regular session). It also recognizes foreign marriages pursuant to lex loci celebrationis (although the principle is codified, rather than a creature of the common law) and will not validate a foreign marriage contrary to the policy of [Wyoming] laws. Christiansen, 253 P.3d at 155-56 (citing Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 20-1-111 (LexisNexis through 2011 regular session)). The court, noting that the policy exception is necessarily narrow, lest it swallow the rule, concluded that recognizing a valid foreign same-sex marriage for purposes of a domestic divorce proceeding does not lessen the law or policy in Wyoming against allowing the creation of same-sex marriages [in Wyoming]. Christiansen, 253 P.3d at 156. New York, which prior to enacting a marriage-equality law in 2011 had comity and marriage laws similar to Maryland and Wyoming, recognized foreign same-sex civil unions for purposes of divorce. See Dickerson v. Thompson, 73 A.D.3d 52, 897 N.Y.S.2d 298, 299-301 (2010) (no subsequent appeal). See also New Mexico Opinion Attorney General 11-01 (2011), available at 2011 WL 111234, concluding that same-sex marriage that is valid under the laws of the country or state where it was consummated would likewise be found valid in New Mexico. Some states have elected not to recognize valid foreign same-sex marriages for purposes of domestic divorce proceedings. See, e.g., In re J.B., 326 S.W.3d 654 (Tex. Ct.App.2010); Kern v. Taney, 11 Pa. D. & C. 5th 558 (Pa.C.P.Ct.2010). Those states, unlike Maryland, expressed clear public policies against honoring foreign same-sex marriages. In re J.B., 326 S.W.3d at 665 (Section 6.204(b) [of the Texas Family Code] declares same-sex marriages void and against Texas public policy.); Kern, 11 Pa. D. & C. 5th at 562 (`A marriage between persons of the same sex which was entered into in another state or foreign jurisdiction, even if valid where entered into, shall be void in this Commonwealth.' (quoting 23 Pa. Cons.Stat. § 1704)). [20]