Maryland OK's Two Moms on Birth Certificates

The state of Maryland will now allow a woman to be named as a parent on the birth certificate of a child born to her same-sex spouse without the court order previously required, Lambda Legal reports.

The Maryland Division of Health and Mental Hygiene sent a letter to state birth registrars last Thursday ordering them to make the change. The letter said the impetus for the change was an opinion issued by Atty. Gen. Douglas Gansler last year that the state would likely soon recognize same-sex marriages from other jurisdictions. The state legislature is also debating a bill that would allow gay couples to marry in Maryland.