Same Sex Marriage Now Legal in PA

Same sex marriage is now legal in Pennsylvania

A federal judge has struck down Pennsylvania’s ban on same-sex marriage.  Pennsylvania joins twelve federal district courts across the country in recognizing same-sex marriage.

United States District Judge John E. Jones, III, issued a Memorandum Opinion (Read Opinion here) today, stating: “Today, certain citizens of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania are not guaranteed the right to marry the person they love….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.”  “We are a better people than what these laws represent, and it is time to discard them into the ash heap of history.”

Locally, PennLive is reporting that Dauphin County Register of Wills is preparing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.  View their story as it is updated here.

Update: Ben Allen of WITF News reports that Dauphin County Register of Wills will begin issuing licenses tomorrow at 8:00 a.m.