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Pennsylvania judge orders county clerk to stop marrying gay couples
Pennsylvania judge orders county clerk to stop marrying gay couplesBy Daniel Kelley
PHILADELPHIA | Thu Sep 12, 2013 3:27pm EDT
A Pennsylvania judge on Thursday ordered a Montgomery County court official to stop issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples, saying that a court clerk does not have the authority to decide whether the state rules are constitutional.
The state's Health Department sued Montgomery County Register of Wills D. Bruce Hanes in August after he began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples, following the U.S. Supreme Court's June ruling that the federal government must recognize same-sex unions in states where they are legal.
"A clerk of courts has not been given the discretion to decide that a law ... he or she is charged to enforce is a good idea or bad one, constitutional or not," Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court President Judge Dan Pellegrini wrote in an opinion issued on Thursday. "Only courts have the power to make that decision."
Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane announced that she would not defend the state's ban on gay marriage in a case before federal courts in the middle district of Pennsylvania.
John Culhane, a professor at Widener Law School and author of the book "Same-Sex Legal Kit for Dummies," said Pellegrini's opinion in Pennsylvania is unsurprising. But he noted that the opinion did not touch on the questions being litigated in the federal court case.
"This case sort of ends with a thud, because it means now we go back to the constitutional issue," Culhane said.
Frank Custer, a spokesman for Montgomery County, says officials there are still reviewing the ruling. They have stopped issuing licenses, he said.
A similar situation is playing out in New Mexico, where several counties have begun issuing marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples. That state's constitution does not bar gay marriage, but after a legal challenge to the practice, the state Supreme Court agreed to hear arguments next month on whether to allow it.
Pennsylvania General Counsel James Schultz, Governor Tom Corbett's chief legal adviser, said in a statement that the ruling is important because it ensures that office holders enforce state laws uniformly.
"The key question in this case has been whether any local official, anywhere in Pennsylvania, has the ability to decide which laws to uphold and which laws to reject based on their own personal legal opinion," Schultz said.
Thirteen U.S. states and the District of Columbia recognize gay marriage. Pennsylvania is among six potential states targeted by gay marriage advocates for a push to legalize same-sex nuptials in 2015 and 2016, according to the Freedom to Marry advocacy group.
Hawaii's governor on Monday called for a special legislative session in October to take up a bill to legalize gay marriage in the island state.
The state's Health Department sued Montgomery County Register of Wills D. Bruce Hanes in August after he began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples, following the U.S. Supreme Court's June ruling that the federal government must recognize same-sex unions in states where they are legal.
"A clerk of courts has not been given the discretion to decide that a law ... he or she is charged to enforce is a good idea or bad one, constitutional or not," Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court President Judge Dan Pellegrini wrote in an opinion issued on Thursday. "Only courts have the power to make that decision."
Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane announced that she would not defend the state's ban on gay marriage in a case before federal courts in the middle district of Pennsylvania.
John Culhane, a professor at Widener Law School and author of the book "Same-Sex Legal Kit for Dummies," said Pellegrini's opinion in Pennsylvania is unsurprising. But he noted that the opinion did not touch on the questions being litigated in the federal court case.
"This case sort of ends with a thud, because it means now we go back to the constitutional issue," Culhane said.
Frank Custer, a spokesman for Montgomery County, says officials there are still reviewing the ruling. They have stopped issuing licenses, he said.
A similar situation is playing out in New Mexico, where several counties have begun issuing marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples. That state's constitution does not bar gay marriage, but after a legal challenge to the practice, the state Supreme Court agreed to hear arguments next month on whether to allow it.
Pennsylvania General Counsel James Schultz, Governor Tom Corbett's chief legal adviser, said in a statement that the ruling is important because it ensures that office holders enforce state laws uniformly.
"The key question in this case has been whether any local official, anywhere in Pennsylvania, has the ability to decide which laws to uphold and which laws to reject based on their own personal legal opinion," Schultz said.
Thirteen U.S. states and the District of Columbia recognize gay marriage. Pennsylvania is among six potential states targeted by gay marriage advocates for a push to legalize same-sex nuptials in 2015 and 2016, according to the Freedom to Marry advocacy group.
Hawaii's governor on Monday called for a special legislative session in October to take up a bill to legalize gay marriage in the island state.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/09/12/us-usa-gaymarriage-pennsylvania-idUSBRE98B0WE20130912