Pa. House passes bill to repeal state’s same-sex marriage ban
The Democratic-controlled Pennsylvania House of Representatives on July 2 passed a bill that would repeal the state’s same-sex marriage ban.
The marriage bill passed by a 133-68 vote margin, with all but one Democrat voting against it. Thirty-two Republicans backed the measure.
The bill’s next hurdle is to pass in the Republican-controlled Pennsylvania Senate. State Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta (D-Philadelphia), a gay man who is running for state auditor, noted to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review the bill would eliminate a clause in Pennsylvania’s marriage law that defines marriage as “between one man and one woman.” The measure would also change the legal definition of marriage in the state to “a civil contract between two individuals.” Kenyatta did not return the Washington Blade’s requests for comment.
The U.S. Supreme Court in 2015 in Obergefell v. Hodges extended marriage rights to same-sex couples across the country. Justice Clarence Thomas in the 2022 decision that struck down Roe v.
