Pennsylvania county clerks started
issuing marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples Tuesday
following a federal judge's ruling declaring the state's ban on such
unions invalid.
“We are better people than what these
laws represent, and it is time to discard them into the ash heap of
history,” U.S. District Judge John E. Jones wrote in his 39-page
ruling.
Jones, a Republican, was recommended to
the bench by former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum, a vocal
opponent of gay rights.
“Has Rick Santorum's head exploded
yet!” The Huffington Post's Mike
Signorile rhetorically asked on Twitter.
(Related: Federal
judge strikes down Pennsylvania's gay marriage ban.)
While Pennsylvania has a three-day
waiting period, a judge may elect to waive the requirement.
Rue Landau and Kerry Smith were the
first couple to be issued a legal marriage license in Pennsylvania,
according to a tweet from WHYY's
Tom MacDonald.