Judge Strikes Down PA Gay Marriage Ban

Federal Judge John Jones overturned Pennsylvania’s ban on same-sex marriage on Tuesday. A suit filed by same-sex couples, their children, and others claimed that the state’s refusal to marry gay and lesbian couples or recognize out-of-state marriages violated the Fourteenth Amendment. In his decision, the judge appointed by George W. Bush and voted onto the bench by Republicans like Rick Santorum said “that same-sex marriage causes discomfort in some does not make its prohibition constitutional.” Jones, who once ran for Congress as a Republican, praised the “courageous” plaintiffs for their work “to end this injustice.” Pennsylvania is the 19th state to legalize gay marriage, and was the last in the Northeast to do so. On Monday, a federal judge in Oregon overturned the state’s same-sex marriage ban.