The women who sought to get married backed away over concerns of an ongoing lawsuit, their lawyer told the Times-Herald of Norristown.
View full sizeMontgomery County Register of Wills D. Bruce Hanes on Tuesday nearly issued Pennsylvania's first same-sex marriage license. The Register of Wills in Montgomery County came close to issuing a same-sex marriage license on Tuesday, before the two women applying for it backed off, citing worries about possible court action that would deny the license without addressing Pennsylvania marriage law, according to the Times-Herald newspaper of Norristown.
D. Bruce Hanes, Montgomery County Register of Wills and Clerk of the Orphan’s Court, told the newspaper the women approached him last week. He researched the issue along with county lawyers and he decided to go forward, the newspaper reported.“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 and was prepared to issue a license to the couple," he told the newspaper. "However, the women, for reasons of their own, decided this morning not to seek the marriage license at this time.”
Pennsylvania defines marriage as between a man and a woman, effectively banning gay marriage. The American Civil Liberties Union is challenging that law in court; two of the plaintiffs are from the Lehigh Valley. Attorney General Kathleen Kane has refused to defend the state in the suit.
The women's attorney released a statement on Tuesday explaining their concerns, the newspaper said.
“While Mr. Hanes and his office were ready and willing to issue the first same-sex marriage license in the history of Pennsylvania, my clients chose not to go forward because they were extremely concerned that the issuance of the marriage license would be challenged on procedural grounds without the courts ever addressing the actual issue of marriage equality,” Michael J. Diamondstein wrote in a news release.
“We are hopeful that Governor (Tom) Corbett and all of our elected officials at the county, state and federal levels will recognize that the love and commitment that they feel for their spouses is no different than the love and commitment that my clients feel for one another.”
The might not be the end of it
Hanes is still willing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, he told the newspaper.
“Had the couple sought the license today, I would have issued it and wished them all the freedom, independence, happiness and rights that our commonwealth’s Constitution purports to grant to them,” Hanes said.
Commissioner Bruce L. Castor Jr., the lone Republican on the three-member board of county commissioners and the only not to support Hanes' actions, said, “we should stay out of it.”
“My opinion is that when you are an executive branch official, like (Hanes) is and like I am, you swear to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution, which means you enforce the laws that were passed pursuant to the Constitutional procedures," the Lafayette College graduate said to the newspaper, adding that he felt the actions on the law were politically motivated to impact Corbett's reelection efforts.