ANNAPOLIS -- After successfully stalling efforts to strengthen the state's ban on gay marriage, gay rights advocates are setting their sights on passing a domestic registry that would grant gay couples and others the right to visit each other in the hospital and make medical decisions.

A medical decision-making bill passed the House last year with 103 votes, including 21 Republicans, after the bill was broadened to include all unmarried couples, not just homosexuals.

Senate Education, Health and Environmental Affairs Chairwoman Paula C. Hollinger (D-Dist. 11) of Pikesville said Thursday that she hopes she can get a bill through her committee this year after it died by a single vote last year. A committee shakeup and another year of advocacy have her optimistic.

Gay rights advocates also are confident.

"We do have the votes to get the bill out of committee this year," said Dan Furmansky, executive director of Equality Maryland.

The bill would set up a state-run domestic registry and grant a series of rights, such as making decisions when a partner is incapacitated and determining how to dispose of their body when they die.

Hollinger also said she hopes Republicans will not seek to filibuster the bill, which she said would be "mean-spirited."

"It would be a terrible thing to say to somebody who has been living with somebody for 25 years that they would not have the right to visit them in the ICU where it's family-only," she said.

Hollin-ger said she knows a nurse who was fired for sneaking a domestic partner into a hospital room at 2 a.m. against a hospital's rules.

"I would have snuck them in, too," said Hollinger, a nurse.

Questions from opponents

Senate Minority Whip Andrew P. Harris (R-Dist. 7) of Cockeysville said he did not expect a filibuster as long as the bill does not grant special rights to homosexuals or hurt the visitation or medical rights of other family members.

But Harris, a medical doctor, said that he needs to be convinced that couples do not already have the ability to grant visitation and decision-making powers to whomever they want. He said he is not clear why a registry is needed.

Furmansky said that seven of the 11 rights in the bill cannot be accomplished by powers of attorney or advanced directives.

Del. Herbert H. McMillan, who strongly opposes gay marriage, said he has no problem with granting medical decision-making and hospital visitation rights, provided that gays are not the only ones who can take advantage of the law.

"If you want to let your girlfriend come visit you in the hospital, I just don't have a problem with that, gay or straight," said McMillan (R-Dist. 30) of Annapolis. "I don't think you'll see a lot of opposition to that, at least not from me, as long as it's all inclusive and doesn't discriminate as to sexual orientation."

He said earlier versions of the bill were a problem because they were more focused on gay couples.

Gay advocates "want to get their toe in the door," McMillan said, saying they see it as "a steppingstone for something bigger."

The Maryland Catholic Conference is among the groups opposing the medical decision-making bill.

On the House side

In the House, Health Government and Operations Chairman John Adams Hurson (D-Dist. 18) of Chevy Chase, lead sponsor of the medical decision-making bill, said he would defer to Hollinger's committee, saying it did not make sense to bring his bill to the floor again unless it can pass the Senate.

A competing bill by Del. Gareth E. Murray (D-Dist. 20) of Silver Spring would eliminate the domestic registry but allow visitation and medical decision-making rights with a notarized certificate. Murray said that not every couple wants to be listed in a state registry.

But gay rights advocates are pushing hard for the registry, saying that it will be easier for hospitals to administer quickly in emergency situations.

Del. Anne R. Kaiser (D-Dist. 14) of Olney, one of the legislature's three openly gay lawmakers, said that in the handful of states with domestic registries, there has not been a problem.

Knowing that the state has verified a relationship through the registry process gives peace of mind to hospitals, funeral homes and others who would have to abide by the law, Furmansky said.

Kaiser said lawmakers should not fear any political repercussion from a bill that helps gay couples, saying few who opposed even gay marriage bans across the nation were defeated at the polls last year.

Opponents of gay marriage, meanwhile, say that they are still hopeful of putting a constitutional amendment aimed at bolstering the state's existing ban on next year's ballot, despite having their efforts stalled in the House Judiciary Committee.

A bill seeking to ban gay marriages performed in other states from being accepted in Maryland died 11-10 in the committee last week, and supporters withdrew a constitutional amendment that was expected to be defeated in similar fashion.

Maryland law already defines marriage as between a man and a woman, but a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union seeks to overturn that law as discriminatory and permit gay marriages.

An effort led by Del. Donald H. Dwyer Jr. (R-Dist. 31) of Glen Burnie to petition the constitutional amendment to the House floor appeared to crumble after Speaker Michael E. Busch (D-Dist. 30) of Annapolis threatened to kill all Republican legislation en masse.

Leadership always frowns on attempts to bypass a primary source of their power -- their ability to bottle bills up before they reach the floor.

Busch soft-pedaled his threat when asked about it by a reporter.

"I just said if that's their preferred way of getting Republican bills to the floor, we can accommodate them," Busch said with a smile.

Furmansky said he does not doubt that there will be more pressure to pass the amendment next year, but said the legislature would probably not want to act until after the case moves its way through the courts, which could take years.