'I'm on the right side of history': County clerk takes on Pa.'s gay marriage ban
NORRISTOWN, Pa. – D. Bruce Hanes, an elected county clerk in the suburbs of Philadelphia, has become something of a gay rights hero for granting marriage licenses to same-sex couples in defiance of Pennsylvania law. But the Civil War buff and married father of two says he is only doing what’s right.
“I don’t see myself as a crusader,” said Hanes, 66, who issues marriage licenses as Montgomery County's register of wills and clerk of the county orphan’s court.
On Wednesday, Pennsylvania’s Commonwealth Court will consider whether Hanes acted illegally when he began doling out licenses to same-sex couples on July 24, one month after the U.S. Supreme Court declared part of the federal Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutional. State attorneys have argued that the documents have no “value or legitimacy.” So far, Hanes has granted marriage paperwork to at least 157 gay couples.
If the court sides with Hanes, the ruling could bring same-sex marriage a step closer in Pennsylvania, the only Northeastern state that does not permit gays to marry or enter into civil unions. If the court rules in favor of the state, the marriage licenses Hanes issued could be rendered useless.
http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/09/04/20311916-im-on-the-right-side-of-history-county-clerk-takes-on-pas-gay-marriage-ban?lite