Maryland’s Legislative LGBTQ+ Caucus, a coalition of nine openly LGBTQ members of the state House and Senate, on Friday accused former Republican Gov. Larry Hogan of failing to support LGBTQ people in his former post.
The statement from the group comes as Hogan vies for an open U.S. Senate seat in one of the most closely watched races of the 2024 cycle.
First reported by the Washington Blade, the statement criticizes Hogan’s refusal to sign several pieces of pro-LGBTQ legislation during his nearly 10 years as governor, though the bills were still able to become law without his signature.
"As a governor, Larry Hogan made it clear that he is not an ally for the LGBTQ+ community," the caucus said in a written statement. "He spent his time as governor refusing to sign legislation that would shore up protections for LGTBQ+ Marylanders from discrimination."
Hogan, who served as Maryland’s governor from 2015 to 2023, declined to approve legislation passed by the state’s Democratic-controlled Legislature to protect victims of hate crimes based on their gender identity and outlaw the LGBTQ “panic” defense, a legal strategy that allows individuals accused of violent crimes to receive lesser sentences by arguing that the victim’s sexual orientation or gender identity caused them to panic.
Hogan did not oppose either bill, however, and both became law without his signature.
The caucus’s statement, led by Democratic state Delegates Kris Fair, Anne Kaiser, Joe Vogel, Ashanti Martinez and Bonnie Cullison, also criticizes Hogan’s dismissal of concerns voiced by a gay Maryland resident during a recent virtual town hall.
"I am a gay Marylander, and I'm very aware that as an ex-governor, there were many LGBTQ rights bills that passed without your signature,” the resident said in a recording of the town hall, which was first reported by the Advocate. "Your decision to not sign these bills is concerning to me, because I'm aware that in the Senate, many bills pass or fail by a single vote. So as a gay Marylander, how can I count on you to protect me and my peers?”
"The bills passed, and they became law, and I did not oppose them,” Hogan responded, “and so I don't know exactly which bills you're referring to or when they passed."
The state’s LGBTQ caucus in its statement said Hogan’s response downplayed “his record of opposing protections for our community," which they called "shameful and a slap in the face to our community.”
“It is sad that Larry Hogan thinks that we would accept such an overt over-simplification of the meaning behind refusing to sign legislation,” the caucus said in its statement. "The fact of the matter is, if Larry Hogan was proud of those bills he would have put his name on them. His refusal to sign them speaks volumes.”
"This is why it is critical that we protect the Democratic majority in the Senate by electing Angela Alsobrooks this November,” the caucus said.
Blake Kernen, Hogan’s press secretary, said Hogan “championed numerous initiatives” to advance LGBTQ rights as Maryland’s governor.
“After calling for ‘tolerance and mutual respect’ in his inaugural address, Governor Hogan supported LGBTQ community priorities throughout his time in office,” she told The Hill in an email, pointing to Hogan’s signature on a 2018 bill that banned conversion therapy for minors and his 2019 appointment of E. Gregory Wells as chief judge of the Maryland Court of Appeals, the first LGBTQ person to hold the position.
Hogan, Kernen said, “allowed” the bills referenced in the LGBTQ+ caucus’s statement to take effect, letting them become law without his signature or veto. He also appointed the first members of Maryland’s Commission on LGBTQ Affairs and signed antibullying laws that strengthened protections for LGBTQ students, she said.
“Maryland has a bipartisan legacy of supporting the LGBTQ community, and Governor Hogan looks forward to building on this work in the Senate,” Kernen said.
Maryland is seen as a blue state in presidential elections, but Hogan's entry into the race has given Republicans hopes of picking up the seat.
Hogan will face off against Democrat Angela Alsobrooks, a Maryland county executive, in November for a Senate seat left open by outgoing Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.).
Alsobrooks maintains a 3.7 percentage point lead over Hogan, according to The Hill/Decision Desk HQ’s average of seven polls pitting the two against each other, though an AARP poll released last week showed the race could be closer than expected, with Hogan and Alsobrooks tied at 46 percent support. A quarter of Democratic respondents said they support Hogan, a moderate Republican and frequent critic of former President Trump.
Maryland state Delegate Ashanti Martinez, a Democrat and member of the state’s Legislative LGBTQ+ Caucus, said Hogan’s willingness to omit his signature on legislation advancing LGBTQ rights “is a stain on his record” that suggests he’ll likely remain on the sidelines if he is elected to Congress.
"Larry Hogan's active absence from LGBTQ+ bills during his tenure as governor shows us he'll be silent in the U.S. Senate when it comes to defending and protecting LGBTQ+ rights," she said.
