Attorneys representing Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett, a
Republican, argued Wednesday that licenses issued to gay couples are
invalid because such couples – like “12-year-olds” – can't
marry.
Bruce Hanes, register of wills for Montgomery County, has issued
154 marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples since July 24 in
defiance of a state law. Hanes acted after Pennsylvania Attorney
General Kathleen Kane, a Democrat, announced that she could not
defend the state's ban in a legal challenge.
Corbett filed a lawsuit to stop Hanes from issuing additional
licenses.
In its brief, the state argued that the marriage licenses hold no
“actual value or legitimacy.”
“Had the clerk issued marriage licenses to 12-year-olds in
violation of state law, would anyone seriously contend that each
12-year-old … is entitled to a hearing on the validity of his
'license'?” the state wrote, according to The
Philadelphia
Inquirer.
Hanes
called the marriage ban “arbitrary and suspect” in his brief.