US: County clerk to pursue federal appeal against same-sex marriage in Pennsylvania

Jun 19 2014
Written by Joseph McCormick

Illustrated rainbow pride flag on a white background.

A county clerk in the US state of Pennsylvania has said she plans to appeal against same-sex marriage in the state at a federal level, after a judge rejected her attempt to do so.

Same-sex marriage was legalised in Pennsylvania following a ruling by Judge John Jones on May 20.

It was cemented as law when the state’s Governor, Tom Corbett, refused to appeal, alongside the Attorney General.

However, desipite the law already being in effect, Schuylkill County clerk Theresa Santai-Gaffney earlier this month sought permission to file an appeal, claiming that she had standing to appeal as the ruling had made the scope of her duties unclear.

Finding against her, Judge Jones ruled that her “deep personal disagreement” with same-sex marriage did not give her any standing to act on behalf of the state.

Immediately responding to Judge Jones’ ruling, Santai-Gaffney said she would take her appeal to federal court.

In his original ruling striking down the same-sex marriage ban, Judge Jones wrote: “We are a better people than what these laws represent, and it is time to discard them into the ash heap of history.”

Earlier today it was reported that a number of district judges in York County had simply stopped performing marriages altogether, following the ruling.