Passage of the “civil marriage” bill was urged by a group of clergymen and laymen who appeared before the Senate Committee on Judicial Proceedings. The measure has passed the House of Delegates and is now before the Senate. Introduced by Delegate Seymour Phillips, the bill would add justices of the peace to those who could perform the marriage ceremony.
Among those who attended the hearing in the Senate chamber were Rabbi Morris S. Lazaron, of the Baltimore Hebrew Congregation, and B. H. Hartogensis, Baltimore attorney.
Rabbi Lazaron pointed out that the bill would not interfere with the present religious ceremonies in the State. He said the question involved went beyond the matter of religious consecration of marriage rites and into the relation of church and State.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
