Gay History Month: Kick off Marriage Equality in Pennsylvania

As City Hall raised its rainbow flag to kick off Gay History Month, Representatives Brian Sims and Steve McCarter (Philadelphia and Montgomery County) have shown the nation that a federal shut down doesn't stop our state legislature from working for us.

This morning in LOVE Park (how fitting), the two Democratic Representatives introduced H.B. 1686, the Pennsylvania Marriage Equality Act.

With all other states in the NE granting or recognizing same sex marriages, Pennsylvania's sometimes reluctant acceptance is inevitable.

The repeal of DOMA has prompted law suits against the state from couples wed elsewhere. Further complicating matters for Governor Corbett and other conservative holdouts, State Attorney Kathleen Kane has refused to defend a law suit against the state's ban on same sex marriages.

While many have argued that Kane is avoiding her sole duty of upholding the laws of the Commonwealth despite personal opinion, her opinion echoes a growing number of Pennsylvanians, one that now represents the majority of the state.

Some states have legalized same sex marriage by way of popular vote, but the growing notion in Pennsylvania and the country seems to be that marriage recognition is a civil liberty not subject to a state vote.