Tag: Pennsylvania

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Federal judge in Pennsylvania declares same-sex marriage ban unconstitutional

Pennsylvania’s same-sex marriage ban was ruled as unconstitutional by U.S. District Court Judge John Jones Tuesday.

From Judge Jones’ ruling:

“Hoping to end this injustice, eleven courageous lesbian and gay couples, one widow, and two teenage children of one of the aforesaid couples have come together as plaintiffs and asked this Court to declare that all Pennsylvanians have the right to marry the person of their choice and consequently, that the Commonwealth’s laws to the contrary are unconstitutional.

“We now join the twelve federal district courts across the country which, when confronted with these inequities in their own states, have concluded that all couples deserve equal dignity in the realm of civil marriage.”

Attorney General Kathleen Kane, who refused to defend the law saying it was unconstitutional, issued this statement: “This is an historic day. More importantly, today brings justice to Pennsylvanians who have suffered from unequal protection under the law because of their sexual orientation. When state-sponsored inequality exists, citizens are deprived of the full protections that the Constitution guarantees. Our Commonwealth progressed today and so have the hopes and dreams of many who suffer from inequality. Today, in Pennsylvania, the Constitution prevailed.”

Since the U.S. Supreme Court decision in U.S. v. Windsor struck down Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act last summer,  federal courts have ruled in favor of marriage equality in Utah, Ohio, Oklahoma, Kentucky, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and, yesterday, in Oregon.

A May 2013 poll found 54 percent of Pennsylvanians support marriage equality.

You can read the entire ruling below from Judge John Jones:

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Pennsylvania: Marriage equality lawsuit may resolve based only on briefs filed, no trial

Pennsylvania’s marriage equality lawsuit may receive a relatively quick ruling in light of the fact that the state says it will not call any experts nor argue the ban causes harm to the plaintiffs.

From the ACLU website:

A trial became unnecessary after the commonwealth stated that it will not call any experts to counter the plaintiffs’ argument that there is no rational reason why lesbian and gay couples are excluded from marriage, nor does it plan to dispute the specific harms caused to the plaintiffs by the marriage ban. All legal papers in the case will be filed by May 12, meaning a ruling could come at any time after that date.

“We are pleased that this case will be moving forward quickly. Our clients have waited long enough for the state to recognize the love and commitment that these couples have for each other,” said John S. Stapleton, of Hangley Aronchick Segal Pudlin & Schiller.

In addition to the motion for summary judgement (asking a judge to decide the case on the briefs alone rather than wait for a trial), briefs were filed by the plaintiffs with testimony from experts on legal disadvantages same-sex couples face on many legal fronts, as well as economic harms to the state’s economy due to banning marriage equality.

You can read the plaintiff’s motion for here.

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Pennsylvania: Support for marriage equality climbs to 57%

Support for marriage equality grows to 57% in Pennsylvania

According to a Quinnipiac University poll released Monday, Pennsylvania voters support a law that would allow same-sex marriage by 57-37 percent.

This represents a three percentage point increase from a Franklin & Marshall poll in October 2013.

Democrats favored the proposal 74-22 percent while Republicans opposed marriage equality 59-36 percent. The majority of independents, 58 percent, also supported the change.

Gender also played a role in determining attitudes towards legalizing gay marriage, with more Pennsylvania women supporting it than men — 60 and 53 percent respectively.

(via Huffington Post)

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Pennsylvania: Gov. Corbett supports LGBT protections in the workplace

Gov. Tom Corbett, a conservative Republican who has opposed LGBT rights in the past – most notably marriage equality -says he is ready to support employment protections for gays and lesbians in the workplace, he told the Philadelphia Inquirer Wednesday. 
“I’ve had people come and talk to me about how they were discriminated against,” said Corbett. “The federal government has antidiscrimination laws. I believed they covered it.”
But federal law does not prohibit employers from firing, refusing to hire or promote someone because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.
Pennsylvania state law does not currently prohibit discrimination in public accommodation, housing, education, or employment on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. A bill that would make it illegal to fire someone for being LGBT was introduced in the state House earlier this year, but has since failed to move out of committee. Pennyslvania is also the only state in the Northeastern U.S. that has yet to embrace marriage equality. 
Openly gay state Rep. Brian Sims, released this statement praising the governor’s move toward equality for all:
“I have long believed that equality is not a one-party issue,” said Sims. “We continue to see our elected officials in Pennsylvania coming out on the right side of history, and Governor Corbett is no exception to this trend. Last month, Senator Pat Toomey, also a conservative Republican, voted to advance the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) in the U.S. Senate, demonstrating to Americans across the country that support for LGBT civil rights and a conservative ideology are not mutually exclusive. To those conservative leaders in our government who have shied away from being vocal about non-discrimination legislation in Pennsylvania, I hope this is a green light to openly support non-discrimination legislation.”
(source)
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Openly gay Pennsylvania teacher fired for applying for marriage license

Michael Griffin, an openly gay teacher at the Holy Ghost Preparatory School in Pennsylvania for 12 years, was suddenly fired from his job yesterday – the same day he and his long-time partner applied for a same-sex marriage license.

From WPVI:

Michael Griffin says he emailed the principal of Holy Ghost Prep earlier in the week saying he may be late Friday, that he was applying for a marriage license.

After an in-service day he says he was called into the office of School President Father James McCloskey, along with Principal Jeffrey Danilak. Griffin explains, “He said, ‘It’s not really a secret here that you’re gay.’ I said, ‘Correct.’ He said, ‘I assume this is a same sex marriage.’ ‘Yes.’ He said if I go through with it, he had no choice but to terminate my position.”

In tears, he left. His over a decade-long tenure at Holy Ghost was over. “I really didn’t think that it would happen. At our school we talk about it’s a community our motto is ‘One heart, one mind.'”

His partner, Vincent Giannetto, tells Action News, “We applied this morning and on the same day he’s fired from his job. So it kind of flipped things upside down for us.”

Holy Ghost is an all boys Catholic high school located in Bensalem, Pennsylvania.

(via Towleroad)

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Pennsylvania: Lawsuit challenging marriage equality ban heads to trial June 2014

According to the AP, the lawsuit filed challenging the Pennsylvania ban on marriage equality will go to trial next June:

U.S. District Judge John E. Jones III told lawyers he would allow two weeks for the trial. Jones said he would set a specific date and a timetable for pretrial discovery and depositions soon. He rejected as unnecessary a defense request to delay the trial until August.

“I’m an optimist by nature,” the judge told lawyers for both sides at the conclusion of an hourlong meeting.

The federal lawsuit is the first of at least six state and federal court suits challenging aspects of the 17-year-old Pennsylvania law. Civil rights lawyers filed it in July on behalf of plaintiffs who include a widow, 11 couples and one couple’s two teenage daughters.

Pennsylvania is the only state in the northeastern United States that bans marriage equality.

Currently, 16 states and the District of Columbia have legalized same-sex marriage.

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State Reps. Brian Sims & Steve McCarter ask Gov. Corbett to follow NJ Governor’s lead

State Reps. Steve McCarter and Brian Sims

State Reps. Brian Sims and Steve McCarter, both Democrats from the Philadelphia region who are sponsoring a gay-marriage bill, issued a statement Monday within hours of Christie’s announcement that he was dropping his court challenge to New Jersey’s law.

“Once again, we’re seeing that even conservative Republicans are realizing that all Americans deserve equal rights,” Sims said. “Unfortunately, here in Pennsylvania, where LGBT Pennsylvanians lack even a single LGBT civil right, some members of the Republican Party would sooner be the Republicans of 1955 rather than 2025. It’s unconscionable that Pennsylvanians who get married out of state can still be fired for putting a wedding photo on their desks.”

“It’s a black eye on the state of Pennsylvania that nearly all of our neighboring states have decided to enter the 21st century and grant equality to all their citizens, yet we still are stuck in the Stone Age,” McCarter said. “Plain and simple, the fact that Pennsylvanians can now cross a border and be granted more rights than they currently have in their own state is a problem that needs to be addressed and it needs to be addressed now.”

Corbett has publicly opposed gay marriage and he’s a defendant in a federal lawsuit challenging Pennsylvania’s gay-marriage ban. Spokesman Jay Pagni noted that, unlike New Jersey’s situation, no legal challenge has reached Pennsylvania’s supreme court.

Sims and McCarter also noted that Pennsylvania lacks basic protections against discrimination against gays in housing, employment and public accommodation.

(source)

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54% of Pennsylvanians support marriage equality

State lawmakers Brian Sims and Steve McCarter introduce marriage equality legislation for Pennsylvania

A new Franklin & Marshall College poll shows that 54 percent of Pennsylvania residents support marriage equality, up 2 points from a similar poll in February.

The results come the same day that state lawmakers Brian Sims and Steve McCarter introduced marriage equality legislation.

Looks like a winning situation for me, kids…

Forward.

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Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett compares same-sex marriage to incest and laughs

Gov. Tom Corbett of Pennsylvania compares marriage equality to marriage between brothers and sisters

Pennsylvania governor Tom Corbett said that marriage for gay and lesbian couples could be compared to marriages between brothers and sisters on Friday.

Corbett made the remark on Harrisburg’s CBS News affiliate, after the reporter brought up a statement made in August by one of his attorneys, who said allowing same-sex couples to marry was legally similar to allowing 12-year-olds get married.

“It was an inappropriate analogy, you know,” Corbett said. “I think a much better analogy would have been brother and sister, don’t you?”  You can see the comment below.  Note that the governor smiles and then laughs at his own comment.  Note the reporter’s uncomfortable pause.

According to USA Today, the Republican has one of the lowest approval ratings for a sitting governor. He is up for re-election for 2014.

UPDATE: The governor, in backtrack mode, has issued an “apology” to anyone who might have been offended.

(via Advocate)