Pennsylvania: Gay Marriage Lawsuit Tossed

A judge has tossed out a lawsuit over gay marriage - but it's not quite what you may think. Two men tried to obtain a marriage license and were refused. They said that they might sue the state. Because of that, 11 state lawmakers sued the couple simply for talking publicly about getting the law changed.

Gay.com explains:

On May 14, the 11 Republicans and one Democrat sued, claiming the couple threatened the state's marriage laws by seeking a marriage license application and talking publicly of changing the law. While the 12 lawmakers did not live in Bucks County, they claimed it was their right to sue since they passed the state's 1996 Defense of Marriage Act.

But on Tuesday Bucks County Judge Mitchell S. Goldberg ruled that "simply being part of a legislative body that passes laws does not grant members of that legislature standing" to file such a claim. Judge Goldberg added Seneca and Stahl "have not taken any legal action regarding their marriage application, let alone brought an actual challenge to the constitutionality of Pennsylvania's marriage laws in any court."

In a prepared statement Larry Frankel, legislative director of the ACLU of Pennsylvania, said, "We think that the court has protected all Pennsylvanians by dismissing this case. Pennsylvanians should be free to discuss their views of state law without threat of being sued by legislators. The court's decision demonstrates that the law does not tolerate elected officials or anyone else suing citizens who merely discuss their opposition to a law," added David S. Cohen, staff attorney at the Women's Law Project. "This case is about much more than same-sex marriage."

I can understand that they might want to be a part of any future lawsuit over the issue (though I'm not sure that they need to be or deserve to be), however, it's not necessary to sue private citizens who are merely contemplating a legal challenge to a law in order to accomplish this!

The Buck County Courier Times reported earlier before the judge made his decision:

Attorney Peter Greenberg, who represents Stephen Stahl and Robert Seneca, also said he's confident that a Bucks County judge will throw out the lawsuit. "If this type of lawsuit is permitted, to be allowed to sue people, to drag them into court, to require them to hire lawyers, merely because they might do something ... it certainly could have a chilling effect on people's right to express themselves," he said.

The plaintiffs' attorney, Glen Lavy of the Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Alliance Defense Fund [a nonprofit group that opposes gay marriage], said his clients have a right to launch a pre-emptive strike against Stahl and Seneca because the men have said repeatedly that they want to challenge the constitutionality of Pennsylvania's Defense of Marriage Act, which forbids same-sex couples from getting married.

It's annoying to read about lawmakers who so obviously don't deserve to have such a position of power or authority. Imagine, suing private citizens simply because they have expressed the possibility that they might in the future challenge a law in court. That's not just a "chilling effect" on free speech, it's an attempt to trash free speech entirely.

Here's a list of the "representatives" who had the gall to do this:

• Allan Egolf
• Gibson C. Armstrong
• Matthew E. Baker
• Thomas C. Creighton
• Gordon Denlinger
• Stephen R. Maitland
• Daryl Metcalfe
• Merle H. Phillips
• Samuel E. Rohrer
• Jerry A. Stern
• Katie True
• Thomas F. Yewcic

Another plaintiff was "Creative Pultrusions, Inc." They entered the suit because, apparently, they don't want to face the possibility of having to give benefits to gay spouses. I wonder if they would have made a similar argument against interracial marriages?

Read More:

• Gay Rights, Gay Marriage
• Evangelical Christianity & Homosexuality
• Catholicism & Homosexuality