Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons in the U.S.

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 state of Maryland

Maryland

Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...

face some legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBT

LGBT

LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...

 residents. Same-sex sexual activity is legal in Maryland

Maryland

Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...

. Same-sex couples and families headed by same-sex couples are not eligible for all of the protections available to different-sex married couples.

Laws against homosexuality

Decriminalization of consensual sodomy

Sodomy laws in the United States

Sodomy laws in the United States, which outlawed a variety of sexual acts, were historically universal. While they often targeted sexual acts between persons of the same sex, many statutes employed definitions broad enough to outlaw certain sexual acts between persons of different sexes as well,...

 was protracted at the state level. Schochet v. State (1990) invalidated laws against consensual heterosexual sex between adults in private. Williams v. Glendening (1998 decision) invalidated laws against oral sex between persons of the same sex. Williams v. Glendening (1999 decree) invalidated laws against consensual anal sex.

Recognition of same-sex relationships

Maryland prohibits recognition of same-sex marriages by statute. However, a limited form of domestic partnership is available for same-sex couples as of 2008.

The state does recognize same sex marriages performed out of state

Maryland has provided benefits to sames-sex partners of state employees since 2009.

Discrimination protection

State law covers hate crimes based on gender identity and sexual orientation.

Hate crime laws

Maryland law protects against discrimination based on sexual orientation but not gender identity.

Summary table

Homosexuality legal	(since 1999)
Gays allowed to serve in the military	(since 2010)
Equal age of consent
Homosexuality declassified as an illness	(since 1973)
Anti-discrimination laws for sexual orientation	(since 2001)
Anti-discrimination laws for gender identity or expression
Recognition of same-sex couples as domestic partners	(since 2008)
Step adoption by same-sex couples
Joint adoption by same-sex couples
Access to IVF for lesbians
Same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage is marriage between two persons of the same biological sex or social gender. Supporters of legal recognition for same-sex marriage typically refer to such recognition as marriage equality.... s
MSM Men who have sex with men Men who have sex with men are male persons who engage in sexual activity with members of the same sex, regardless of how they identify themselves; many men choose not to accept sexual identities of homosexual or bisexual... s allowed to donate blood