History of PA DOMA

May 8, 1996: State Rep. Allen Egolf introduces HB 2604, also known as the state Defense of Marriage Act, to define marriage as between one man and one woman and prevent recognition of out-of-state same-sex marriages.

June 28, 1996: Egolf’s bill is added as an amendment to adoption legislation, passed by the House in a 177-16 vote.

Oct. 1, 1996: State Senate votes 43-5 to concur.

Oct. 8, 1996: Gov. Tom Ridge (R) signs the bill into law. June 5, 2009: State Sen. Daylin Leach introduces the first-ever legislation to repeal the state DOMA and legalize marriage equality.

Sept. 19, 2011: State Rep. Babette Josephs introduces the first-ever legislation in the House to repeal the state DOMA and legalize marriage equality.

June 26, 2013: U.S. Supreme Court strikes a key portion of the federal DOMA in United States v. Windsor.

July 9, 2013: Plaintiffs, represented by ACLU and Hangley Aronchick Segal Pudlin & Schiller, file suit in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania.

Nov. 15, 2013: Judge John E. Jones 3d rules not to dismiss the case.

April 21, 2014: Plaintiffs ask judge to circumvent trial and rule on the briefs.

May 20, 2014: Jones finds that the marriage-equality ban violates the constitutional due-process and equal-protection guarantees.

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