BALTIMORE — Alliance Defense Fund attorneys representing the citizen voter coalition Maryland Citizens for Responsible Government helped secure a favorable ruling from a Maryland court Thursday, giving 900,000 Montgomery County voters their right to be heard on their petition against a “gender identity” bill. Groups not wanting the will of the people to be heard on the bill attempted to disenfranchise and silence hundreds of thousands of county voters.
“Like all American citizens, Maryland voters have the right to have their voices count,” said ADF Litigation Counsel Amy Smith. “Justice was served in today’s ruling, as more than enough valid signatures were collected for the petitions, and the plaintiffs clearly failed to file their suit before the statute of limitations expired.”
A group of advocates of homosexual behavior filed suit to challenge a referendum petition submitted by MCRG. Even though the Montgomery County Board of Elections certified the petitions for the Nov. 4 ballot, and the number of signatures collected greatly exceeded the requirement, Equality Maryland sued the board, contending that nearly half of the valid signatures should not be counted due to flaws they claimed were part of the petition process (www.telladf.org/news/story.aspx?cid=4541).
The order issued by the court “declares that the petition brought by Maryland Citizens for a Responsible Government contains the requisite number of signatures necessary to place Bill No. 27-07...on the November 4, 2008, General Election ballot, for consideration by the voters of this county, and it is further ordered, that Montgomery County certify the ballot question and wording thereof for inclusion on the November 4, 2008, ballot no later than August 18, 2008.”
The full text of the memorandum decision and declaratory judgment order in Doe v. Montgomery County Board of Elections is available at www.telladf.org/UserDocs/MCBEDecision.pdf.
ADF is a legal alliance of Christian attorneys and like-minded organizations defending the right of people to freely live out their faith. Launched in 1994, ADF employs a unique combination of strategy, training, funding, and litigation to protect and preserve religious liberty, the sanctity of life, marriage, and the family.
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