NOM BLOG

Montgomery County SSM Hearing Set for Wednesday

 

Pennsylvania law makes it very clear: marriage is between a man and woman. All faux-'marriage' licenses that were issued to same-sex couples by a rogue county clerk who decided he had the authority to disregard the law should be considered invalid.

Gov. CorbettLawyers are set to meet in a Harrisburg Court for the argument to decide whether an elected Montgomery County clerk has the ability to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

Since July, Clerk Bruce Hanes has issued 164 same-sex marriage licenses, but Pennsylvania doesn’t permit civil unions or gay marriage.

Governor Corbett’s administration is leading up this lawsuit, contending that all of the licenses issued to same-sex couples in Pennsylvania are invalid because the law outlines marriage as between one man, and one woman.

“The key question here is, does a local official have the ability to pick and choose which laws they enforce and which laws they disregard,” Nils Frederkisen, General Counsel for the Corbett administration, said.

Governor Corbett spoke to CBS 21’s Sherry Christian last month, and said if the Attorney General won’t defend the laws of Pennsylvania, his administration will. “You can’t pick or choose which laws you want to defend, which laws you don’t want to defend. So at this point, since she has chosen not to defend it, we will defend it, and as I said, the courts will make the determination.” -Local21News

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