Though Pennsylvania has not yet legalized same-sex marriage, one county clerk is taking the issue into his own hands, announcing he will issue gay marriage licenses to anyone who walks into his office and requests one — effective immediately.
“Based upon the advice of [my solicitor], my own analysis of the law and mindful of the Attorney General’s belief that Pennsylvania’s marriage laws are unconstitutional, I decided to come down on the right side of history and the law,” Bruce Hanes, Montgomery County’s register of wills, said Tuesday in a press release.
Hanes’ announcement comes after the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania filed a lawsuit on July 9 in federal court on behalf of 23 gay and lesbian plaintiffs. The plaintiffs want the court to overturn Pennsylvania’s Defense of Marriage Act, which defines marriage as between one man and one woman. They also would like the state to recognize same-sex marriages that were performed in other states.
On Wednesday, Craig Andrussier, a non-denominational minister, performed the county’s first same-sex marriage for a lesbian couple. Andrussier said he was not sure whether the couple he married on Wednesday were plaintiffs in the lawsuit, but he said he felt honored to be part of the historic marriage.
“If they have a long happy life together they can tell their grandchildren about it,” he said.
In total, five same-sex couples were married on Wednesday. However, the validity of the marriages is still in question, since the state does not recognize same-sex marriages.
Alan Kennedy-Shaffer is the president of Harrisburg Hope, a bipartisan advocacy group. He said that Hanes’ stance on the gay marriage issue is “further proof that Gov. (Tom) Corbett should refuse to defend discrimination in Pennsylvania.”
He added, “There is momentum for marriage equality and it will become law in Pennsylvania sooner than many people think.”
State Sen. Rob Teplitz (D-Dauphin County) is also a proponent of gay marriage and said he didn’t know whether to criticize or praise Hanes’ decision to offer same-sex marriage licenses. Teplitz added that he seemed to “recall that 10 years ago this is how California got started — with the mayor of San Francisco who started issuing licenses.”
In 2004, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom decided after 12 days on the job that he was going to defy California state law and allow gay men and lesbians the right to marry.
Nine days after Newsom authorized the city clerk to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, nearly 3,200 same-sex couples were married.
Similarly, in 2004, New Paltz, N.Y., Mayor Jason West said he considered it his “moral obligation” to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples and began conducting ceremonies. Though the New York State Department of Health told West that his decision could result in legal action taken against him, West said it was an issue of civil rights.
“Separate but equal didn’t work for Blacks and Whites and it doesn’t work for gays and straight people,” West said.
The state of Pennsylvania could take legal action against Hanes, but it’s not clear exactly what the charges or punishment would entail, since defying gay marriage laws is a relatively new endeavor.
While many applauded Hanes’ decision, there were also many who were less than ecstatic upon hearing his announcement.
The American Family Association of Pennsylvania issued a press release saying the group had attempted to contact Hanes and remind him Pennsylvania state law defines marriage as being between one man and one woman. The group also asked Hanes whether he would also be willing to issue a marriage license to first cousins who were “in love.”
“Apparently he is following the lead of Attorney General Kathleen Kane who has said she would not defend Pennsylvania’s Defense of Marriage Act even though the job she was elected to fill includes defending the laws of the Commonwealth,” Diane Gramley, the president of the Family Association, said. “If he can’t uphold the law and issue marriage licenses only to those who can legally marry in Pennsylvania, he needs to tender his resignation.”
While Teplitz may personally agree with Hanes, he said he has concern about the way Hanes is trying to skirt the law and change Pennsylvania’s definition of marriage.
“I do have concern that we need to respect the way it’s done,” Teplitz said. “I don’t want to show respect to the current law because I think the current law is wrong but I think you have to be careful about performing an inappropriate task in government as a way to address some other inappropriate issue.”