New Pa. Court Challenges Filed To Gay Marriage Ban
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - Twenty-one gay couples are challenging the constitutionality of Pennsylvania's same-sex marriage ban in state court.
The lawsuit was filed Wednesday in Commonwealth Court.
It parallels a separate challenge to the law the filed two months ago in federal court. Both challenges claim the law violates the federal constitution, but the latest filing claims it also violates the state constitution.
All 21 couples were married with licenses from a Montgomery County court clerk who began issuing them after state Attorney General Kathleen Kane concluded the law was unconstitutional and refused to defend it against the federal court challenge.
The challenges follow a U.S. Supreme Court decision partially striking down the federal Defense of Marriage Act, which like the Pennsylvania law restricts marriage as the union of one man and one woman.
(Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
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