Category Archives: Same-Sex Marriage

No union is more profound than marriage, for it embodies the highest ideals of love, fidelity, devotion, sacrifice, and family. In forming a marital union, two people become something greater than once they were. As some of the petitioners in these cases demonstrate, marriage embodies a love that may endure even past death. It would […]

In Whitewood v. Wolf, 2014 WL 2058105 (M.D.Pa. 2014), the Federal District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania held that Pennsylvania’s ban on same-sex marriages was unconstitutional, thus same-sex marriage is now legal in Pennsylvania. One area of the law that will be greatly impacted by this decision is paternity; however, it remains to […]

In Pennsylvania, the legislature’s attempt to limit marriage to the traditional model, by defining it as a “civil contract by which one man and one woman take each other for husband and wife,” has been found unconstitutional. The legislature, in the wake of the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), had passed a law limiting […]

Same-sex couples have been given expanded recognition in federal law matters, including bankruptcies, prison visits and survivor benefits. The states that do not recognize same-sex marriages will apply the benefits in those instances where the U.S. Government has jurisdiction. See NBC News re same-sex couple benefits

A Federal Judge in Texas has ruled that the state’s law banning same-sex marriages was unconstitutional. However, the Judge ruled that the law would remain in place until the matter was heard on appeal by the Federal Appeals Court. See Bloomberg article

Recent applications for marriage licenses by several same-sex couples in Allegheny County were denied. See Post-Gazette article: same sex marriage licenses denied

In the recent case of U.S. v. Windsor, 133 S.Ct. 2675 (2013), the United States Supreme Court struck down a major provision of the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). This was a sea change in the law, and many observers believe this will usher in same-sex marriage as a constitutional right. In Windsor, the […]

In the recent case of U.S. v. Windsor, 133 S.Ct. 2675 (2013), the United States Supreme Court struck down a major provision of the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). This was a sea change in the law, and many observers believe this will usher in same-sex marriage as a constitutional right. DOMA was passed […]