Same-sex marriage (SSM) In Pennsylvania

Part 2: Officials won't defend discriminatory laws.
Polls show public support. 4 SSM licenses sold.
One lesbian couple marries.

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This is a continuation from a previous essay.

Some state officials are refusing to defend state laws:

Traditionally, when state laws were challenged in court, senior state officials are expected to defend those laws. However, there has been a recent political trend in which top officials are refusing to defend existing laws that deal with socially divisive laws that they feel are unconstitutional. One high profile case happened in California where a Federal District Court determined that Proposition 8 -- a citizen initiative to ban same-sex marriage -- was unconstitutional. Both the Governor and the Attorney General refused to defend the marriage law. ProtectMarriage, the organization that had originally promoted Prop. 8, was allowed to appeal the case to a panel of judges at the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, and later to the whole court. They lost both times, and appealed the case to the U.S. Supreme Court. That Court ruled that ProtectMarriage did not have standing, either before the Court of Appeals or the Supreme Court. Thus, the decision of the Court of Appeals was vacated.

According to the Washington Post, other state officials are also refusing to defend state laws:

"In Hawaii, Gov. Neil Abercrombie (D) filed court papers calling that state’s gay marriage ban unconstitutional.

And in Indiana, Attorney General Greg Zoeller (R) has come under fire from conservatives for refusing to defend a portion of that state’s immigration law. He said a recent Supreme Court ruling on a similar Arizona provision means that Indiana’s law is unconstitutional. ₁

The moves have put officials in both parties under attack from opponents, who accuse them of basing their decisions on political, rather than legal, motives. As a result, groups on both sides of the spectrum are laying plans to target the officials in upcoming elections." ₂

On 2013-JUL-11, Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane, (D, 47) refused to defend the state's SSM ban in the case "Whitewood v. Corbett." It has been filed at the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania federal court. Kane believes it to be "wholly unconstitutional" She had expressed her viewpoint earlier, on the day after election day when she had said:

"It’s the role of the attorney general to be an independently elected voice. People see politics as a close-knit, good ol’ boy network, and I want to change that starting Day One." ₁

Rob Gleason, Pennsylvania's GOP chairman, issued a statement saying:

"It is unacceptable for Attorney General Kathleen Kane to put her personal politics ahead of her taxpayer-funded job by abdicating her responsibilities. She is blatantly politicizing the highest law enforcement office in our Commonwealth at the expense of a core responsibility of the Attorney General’s office. ... Pennsylvanians are left with the question, if the Kathleen Kane’s political beliefs are the standard for law enforcement, what law will she ignore next?" ₁

Governor Tom Corbett (R) is also a named defendant in the case. Through his general counsel, he will have the state marriage act defended. AG Kane said:

"I’m not leaving them high and dry. They have their own team." ₁

Public opinion polls:

There has been a continual increase in support for, and decrease in opposition to SSM in recent years:

• 2006: A poll by Franklin & Marshall College 33% of Pennsylvania voters favored allowing SSM.
  
  
• 2011-NOV: Public Policy Polling conducted a low resolution poll among only 504 registered voters. The margin of error was ±4.4 percentage points. They found 36% support and 52% opposition to SSM.
  
  
• 2013-JAN-29 to FEB-03: Another poll conducted by the Franklin & Marshall College found that 52% favored SSM while 41% were opposed, for a margin of 11 percentage points. Number of persons sampled was 622. The margin of error was ±3.9 percentage points. The increase in support from their 2006 survey is almost 3 percentage points a year, which is similar to many national polls.
  
  
• 2013-MAR 08 to 10: Another poll by Public Policy Polling found that 45% of voters favored SSM while 47% were opposed. The poll sampled 504 registered voters and had a margin of error of ±4.4 percentage points. This is an increase of 9 percentage points over 18 months, or a 6 percentage points per year. This is an unusually high rate of increase in support. PPP reported:

  "Seniors continue to be opposed to gay marriage by a 28/62 margin, but voters under 45 support it 58/35, suggesting that it's only a matter of time. ... 'The massive generational gap on gay marriage in Pennsylvania reflects what we see most places,' said Dean Debnam, President of Public Policy Polling. 'Majority support for it is just around the corner'." _3,4

• 2013-JUL-09: PoliticsPA announced the results of their poll among their web site readers. They were asked the question: "Will same-sex marriage be legal in PA? When?" Responses were:
  
  
  • 46%: Within 5 years.
  • 28%: in 5 to 10 years.
  • 12%: in 10 to 20 years.
  • 4%: more than 20 years.
  • 10%: Never. ₅

It may well prove to be be increasingly difficult for organizations opposed to marriage equality to collect donations from a public which believes that SSM will arrive in Pennsylvania within a decade.

2013-JUL-24: The first lesbian couple in Pennsylvania marries. Four more same-sex couples obtain marriage licenses:

On JUL-23, D. Bruce Hanes (D), the Register of Wills in Montgomery County, PA announced that he would act contrary to the text of state law and issue licenses to same-sex couples. He apparently based this remarkable decision on the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Windsor v. United States which found that the main section of the federal defense of marriage act (DOMA) was unconstitutional. Although Justice Kennedy's ruling was directed at this one federal law, many observers believe that his reasoning could be extracted from the Windsor ruling and applied directly in lawsuits attempting to declare discriminatory marriage laws -- and even anti-SSM amendments to state constitutions -- to be unconstitutional.

Alicia Terrizzi, 45, and Loreen Bloodgood have been together for 17 years. Terrizzi said:

"We've been waiting a long time for this. We're not setting out to be pioneers. We don't think our family is any different than anybody else. [sic]" ₆

₇

Having obtained permission from a court to waive the normal three day waiting period, they were married on JUL-24, the same day as they obtained their license. Craig Andrussier from Lansdale, PA was the wedding officiant. He said:

"I feel great. I feel honored. This is an open door right now. Hopefully the rest of the state will open their eyes and minds and see that these are two people in love. If they want to spend their life together, there shouldn’t be a tag or label put on them. Basically anybody should have the opportunity and option to get married. I’m glad to be a part of it."

Four other couples also obtained their marriage licenses on the same day and had the waiting period waived. One couple was Ellen Toplin, 60, and Charlene Kurland, 69, who have been together for 22 years. Toplin said:

"Thanks to our progressive legislators here, our commissioners ... who have recognized the importance of recognizing individuals who love each other and have been committed for years and should have the same rights and equality that the rest of the world does. ... Of course the country is turning but Pennsylvania, unfortunately, we do lag behind. I understand we have conservative territory between Pittsburgh and Philadelphia but people aren’t as conservative as legislators are, is my belief and what statistics and surveys bear out. I hope our legislators realize and catch up to things. ... We know ... [that same-sex marriage is] not legal in the state of Pennsylvania. We can only hope that the Legislators will finally get in step with the populace across Pennsylvania, which overwhelmingly supports the rights of gay and lesbian individuals to tie the knot together and live their lives in a recognized union. We hope the legislators step up to the plate and start representing the people rather than their own interests."

James Goldstein, 52, obtained a marriage licence for himself and his partner Marcus Saitschenko, 52. Goldstein said that he felt great being able to obtain a license. He said:

"I’m feeling like more of a full citizen. ... We consider ourselves married regardless of whether the state recognizes it. We’re hopeful that the state will recognize it."

Nicola Cucinotta, 45, and Tamara Davis, 45 have been together for three years and are raising three children. Cucinotta said that she was concerned that their marriage may be invalidated by the state. She said:

"I care. I want it to be legal. We don’t want to be discriminated against any longer."

None of the five couples are plaintiffs in the "Whitewood v. Corbett" case in U.S. District Court. If, as expected, the state attempts to disallow their marriages, they might well launch a lawsuit of their own to regain their status and recognition.

D. Bruce Hanes said:

"I feel very happy as a matter of fact. It is historic. It is progress. The arc of progress is always upward. Maybe I’m a part of that. I think I’m on the right side of history. I believe I’m on the right side of the [state] constitution and the law. I think if you come into my office three four years from now, you will say what was this all about. We will be talking about what a non-issue it was." ₆

2013-JUL-30: Government officials sue to stop more SSM licenses being issued. Governor's General Counsel will fight "Whitewood v. Corbett":

Six days after D. Bruce Hanes started issuing marriage licenses, he had issued 34 SSM licenses and had registered six SSMs. The state Health Department filed a petition with a court on JUL-30 stating that he had:

"repeatedly and continously [flouted the law.] There is no limit to the administrative and legal chaos that is likely to flow from the clerk’s unlawful practice of issuing marriage licenses to those who are not permitted under Pennsylvania law to marry." ₈

County solicitor Ray McGarry said the Health Department’s lawsuit:

"... has serious flaws. ... The county will continue to grant licenses to gay couples."

Also on JUL-30, Governor Tom Corbett's (R) General Counsel, James Schultz (R), said that the governor's office would defend the law prohibiting SSMs in response to the lawsuit "Whitewood v. Corbett" filed in federal District Court by 23 plaintiffs. Schultz wrote that the lawsuit:

"... will create chaos and uncertainty — not unlike what we are seeing in the unlawful actions" of Hanes. ₈

"labman57," a reader of the Washington Post article posted a comment:

"Tom Corbett is eager to earn his place in history as the George Wallace of the anti-gay marriage battle." ₈

More news is expected in the near future.

References used:

The following information sources were used to prepare and update the above essay. The hyperlinks are not necessarily still active today.

1. Juliet Eilperin, "Who is Kathleen Kane?" Washington Post, 2013-JUL-11, at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/
2. Juliet Eilperin, "State officials balk at defending laws they deem unconstitutional," Washington Post, 2013-JUL-18, at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/
3. Thomas Fitzgerald, "Pa. polls show shift on gay marriage," The Philadelphia Inquirer, 2013-MAR-28, at: http://articles.philly.com/
4. Support for gay marriage in Pennsylvania on the rise," Public Policy Polling, 2013-MAR-13, at: http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/
5. Bryan Magee, "Reader Poll: Same Sex Marriage in PA by 2018," PoliticsPA, 2013-JUL-09, at: http://www.politicspa.com/
6. Ivey DeJesus, "Lesbian couple weds, another four same-sex couples apply for marriage licenses in Pennsylvania," Patriot-News, 2013-JUL-24, at: http://www.pennlive.com/
7. Craig Andrussier's home page is at: http://www.caweddingceremonies.com
8. "Pa. officials sue to stop rogue county from issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples," Associated Press, 2013-JUL-30, at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/

Copyright © 2013 by Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance 
Originally written: 2013-JUL-10
Latest update: 2013-JUL-31
Author: B.A. Robinson

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