Same-sex marriage in Pennsylvania
On June 28, the House considered a bill to amend Pennsylvania statutes to allow for grandparents to adopt grandchildren over the objections of their parents.
Legislation to extend marriage rights to same-sex couples by amending state statutes has been introduced to the General Assembly several times.
In Pennsylvania, a constitutional amendment requires approval by both chambers of the General Assembly in two successive two-year sessions by majority vote before going to voters in a referendum.
[22] The bill was laid on the table on May 6, 2008 because the House of Representatives would not allow it to be considered by the State Government Committee in a timely manner.
[31] On May 20, 2014, Judge John E. Jones III ruled that Pennsylvania's same-sex marriage ban violated the Constitution of the United States.
[32] The ruling was not stayed and same-sex couples in Pennsylvania could request and receive marriage licenses immediately and marry after a mandatory 3-day waiting period.
[33] Anticipating legal maneuvers to stay Jones' ruling, dozens of same-sex couples applied for marriage licenses the same day and some obtained waivers of the state's three-day waiting period.
[34][35] Governor Corbett announced on May 21 that he would not appeal Judge Jones' decision, effectively making Pennsylvania the 19th U.S. state to recognize same-sex marriage.
[36] The Schuylkill County Clerk of Orphans' Court, Theresa Santai-Gaffney, responsible for responding to marriage license applications, repeatedly sought to intervene to defend the statute without success.
The defendants, Governor Corbett and Attorney General Kane, filed motions to dismiss that November and December, respectively, with the plaintiffs responding in January 2014.
[43] On January 17, 2014, a group called the Philadelphia Metro Task Force, opposed to same-sex marriage recognition in Pennsylvania, sought to intervene in the lawsuit.
This group alleged that, in allowing same-sex marriage, "reverse discrimination is threatened amidst a continual omission of religious and moral freedom."
[44] The case was rendered moot on May 21 when Governor Corbett decided not to appeal the decision in Whitewood v. Wolf, and as a result, same-sex marriage commenced throughout Pennsylvania.
Judge McLaughlin issued an order on September 8 suspending further proceedings until "expiration of the deadline to petition the U.S. Supreme Court for a writ of certiorari in Whitewood.
"[46] After the Whitewood decision allowed the Palladino plaintiffs to lawfully marry in Pennsylvania, and the state defendants stipulated "that they will take no steps to deprive Plaintiffs of the benefits accorded by the validity and recognition of their marriage under Pennsylvania law", Judge McLaughlin ordered the case voluntarily dismissed as moot on October 22, 2014.
In May 1984, the Superior Court of Pennsylvania ruled against him and dismissed the case, stating that the issue was a matter for the General Assembly to decide.
[48][49] In July 2013, shortly after Attorney General Kathleen Kane declined to defend Pennsylvania's prohibition of same-sex marriage in U.S. district court,[50] D. Bruce Hanes, the Montgomery County Register of Wills and Clerk of Orphans' Court, announced he would issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
He interpreted his Orphans' Court's position as a judicial one and found that denying same-sex couples marriage licenses as the statutes required would violate their rights under the State Constitution.
[59] Couples who received a marriage license from Hanes filed an amicus curiae brief on his behalf with the Supreme Court on December 2, 2013.
[62][63] The cases pending in the Commonwealth Court were rendered moot on May 21 when Governor Corbett decided not to appeal the decision in Whitewood v. Wolf, which left in place the order ending enforcement of Pennsylvania's denial of marriage rights to same-sex couples.
[64] A study from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) found that allowing same-sex couples to marry in Pennsylvania would add nearly $100 million to the state's economy.
[67] A 2016 study by the United States Department of the Treasury showed that Philadelphia, Harrisburg, Pittsburgh, Lancaster and Allentown were the Pennsylvania cities with the highest proportion of same-sex marriages.
[74] The August 2011 Franklin & Marshall College survey found that 50% of Pennsylvania respondents supported a constitutional amendment to legalize same-sex marriage, while 42% opposed it and 8% were not sure.
A separate question on the same survey found that 62% of respondents supported a law legalizing civil unions for same-sex couples, while 34% opposed it and 4% were not sure.
