Pa. county agrees to same-sex marriage licenses
Jul 23, 2013, 8:23 PM
PHILADELPHIA (AP) – Officials in the third-largest county in Pennsylvania have agreed to issue same-sex marriage licenses, despite a state law that bans the practice.
D. Bruce Hanes, the register of wills in Montgomery County in southeast Pennsylvania, said he wants to come down “on the right side of history and the law.” He agreed to issue a license Tuesday to two women who contacted him last week.
The women changed their minds, however, after a Tuesday morning discussion with the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania, which has a pending lawsuit challenging the state law.
Their attorney Michael Diamondstein said the couple, two doctors in their 40s, decided “today is not the day” because of fears the marriage would be overturned. He said they still hope to marry in Pennsylvania.
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