Philly usually takes up much of the LGBT spotlight in the Keystone State, but all eyes have been on Montgomery County in the past week.
The county’s register of wills, D. Bruce Hanes, made national headlines last week when he said he would issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, prompting dozens of couples from around the region to head to his office. Even though the documents aren’t legally valid — as marriage is conferred by the state, and state law currently bans same-sex marriage — many have hailed the action as an important public statement.
But, Gov. Corbett’s administration is now seeking to squash the celebration with a lawsuit that would compel Hanes by court order to stop issuing licenses to same-sex couples.
Although the ramifications of Hanes’ actions are far from certain, what is for sure is that his move — and the support by county leaders like Commissioner Josh Shapiro and Leslie Richards — was pioneering. Just as Attorney General Kathleen Kane refused to back the state law that bans marriage equality, Hanes took a very revolutionary move, and one that has only been adopted by just a handful of county and municipal officials across the nation.
And his explanation for his position is not one that centers on personal accounts of discrimination by residents in his county or on his own experience with the LGBT community; he took a purely legal standpoint, even declining to talk about his personal views with PGN. Hanes’ theory is simple: The state law that prevents same-sex couples from accessing the rights and benefits afforded to married heterosexual couples violates the state and federal constitutions. And, as a public servant, he is obliged to uphold those documents.
His decision raised immediate and, in some cases, rightful questions about whether it is advisable for county-level officials to weigh in on state laws. As the marriage-equality movement powers full-steam ahead, this is just one of the many issues advocates are going to need to consider, as state after state, and possibly county after county, wages into this fight.
But Montgomery County’s approach signals yet another turn in the debate. Earlier this summer, Rep. Brian Sims embraced antigay lawmaker Daryl Metcalfe’s epitaph that he was acting “in open rebellion to God’s law.” Maybe it’s time for more elected officials to follow Hanes’ lead and rebel against state law.
While the path to full marriage equality likely lies with the lawsuit recently filed by the American Civil Liberties Union that challenges the constitutionality of the state ban on same-sex marriage, each ally the movement can accrue — especially those willing to take a highly public and highly criticized position for our community — puts us one step closer to equal rights.