Senate Co-Sponsorship Memoranda

I am re-introducing legislation to bring our laws up to date by repealing Section 1704 of Title 23 (Domestic Relations) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, which currently only recognizes marriage between a man and woman. 

 

For ten years, marriage equality has been enshrined as a right by both our state and federal governments, and this section of state law no longer represents the modern definition and view of marriage. 
 

While numerous states had previously recognized the right of same-sex couples to marry, it was the Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court ruling in 2014 and the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges in 2015, which made it clear that marriage, and all its privileges and responsibilities, should be available to all.  

 

Our federal representatives made great strides at updating our laws by passing the Respect for Marriage Act in December of 2022 to define marriage under federal law, as a legal union between two individuals that is valid in the U.S. state, territory, or possession in which it was entered. The act formally repealed the federal Defense of Marriage Act (1996), which had defined marriage as a legal union between one man and one woman and had permitted states to refuse to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states.  

 

However, legislation is still needed at the state level to update our marriage statutes and prevent the outlaw of same-sex marriage in Pennsylvania should both state and federal court rulings be overturned. 
  
As legislators, we are entrusted to retain laws that reflect and represent the will and values of our constituents. It is a disservice to all Pennsylvanians in loving, same-sex marriages to continue to allow this obsolete section of law to exist. Please join me in co-sponsoring this legislation to protect and show continued compassion and support for marriage equality in our state.