The county Register of Wills was poised to issue the first-ever same-sex marriage license Tuesday in Pennsylvania history, when its office yanked the decision last minute, citing the would-be newlyweds’ concern for a pending lawsuit against the state.
According to D. Bruce Hanes, Montgomery County Register of Wills and Clerk of the Orphan’s Court – the main man responsible for issuing marriage licenses in the county – he was approached last week by two women seeking a marriage license.
In the ensuing days, he, along with county solicitors, said they ‘studied every aspect of the law, including recent Supreme Court decisions and statements by the Pennsylvania Attorney General.’
‘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. However, the women, for reasons of their own, decided this morning not to seek the marriage license at this time.’
Early in the day Tuesday, the county commissioners’ communications office put out an advisory alerting the press it was holding a major news conference on the courthouse steps. Three hours later, it was cancelled. Both Democrats on the board of commissioners, Chairman Josh Shapiro and Vice Chairwoman Leslie Richards, support same-sex marriage.
Current Pennsylvania law defines a marriage as a civil contract between a man and a woman and does not recognize civil unions or same-sex marriages from other states.
The two women seeking the license, whose names have not been released, are residents of Montgomery County. Their attorney, Michael J. Diamondstein, sent out a news release citing reasons for the reversal of their decision.
‘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,’ said Diamondstein.
‘We are hopeful that Governor 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.’
Less than two weeks ago, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed a lawsuit against the commonwealth, naming Attorney General Kathleen Kane and Governor Tom Corbett as defendants. The suit follows the U.S. Supreme Court decision that declares the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) unconstitutional. Similar suits are being pursued in Virginia and North Carolina.
Tuesday’s developments could open the door for more couples to approach Montgomery County – the third-largest in the state – seeking similar relief. Hanes has said he welcomes it.
‘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,’ said Hanes.
All three county commissioners weighed in on the subject. Shapiro and Richards hailed Hanes’ intention to issue a marriage license to same-sex couples.
‘Equality took a step forward in Montgomery County with the decision to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples,’ Shapiro said in a news release.
Richards said she was ‘totally for marriage equality’ and ‘people who love each other should be able to marry and I am thrilled that Montgomery County is at the forefront of this issue.’
Commissioner Bruce L. Castor, Jr., the lone Republican on the board, said that, as county commissioners, ‘we should stay out of it.’
‘It is not within the authority of the Clerk of the Orphan’s Court or the Register of Wills to change (Pennsylvania’s marriage definition). Only the legislature or a court could do that.
‘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.
‘This is a way of throwing a hot potato in the governor’s lap right before re-election, if the AG doesn’t act. I think it could be easily interpreted as a purely political move. Anyway, I don’t believe it’s any of our business in the commissioners’ office.’
Diamondstein said his clients, two doctors in their 40s, still hope to marry in Pennsylvania.
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