ALABAMA: MSNBC Reports "Smooth And Peaceful Day" At State Capital

PENNSYLVANIA: Suit Against Pro-Gay County Clerk Bruce Hanes To Be Dropped

Late last summer Montgomery County Clerk Bruce Hanes began issuing same-sex marriage licenses to Pennsylvania couples. A court soon ordered Hanes to cease and Gov. Tom Corbett waded into the fray by comparing Hanes' action to allowing 12 year-old children to marry. Corbett apologized, but by then he had joined a lawsuit against Hanes brought by the Pennsylvania Department of Health. Today that case will be dropped.

Wednesday night, Frank Custer, the Director of Communications of Montgomery County, told NBC10 that in light of the recent court ruling, Hanes would once again be allowed to issue the marriage licenses. "It is our understanding that the PA Department of Health tonight will file a "letter of no objection" with the Pennsylvania Supreme Court concerning the stay preventing Montco Register of Wills D. Bruce Hanes from issuing same sex marriage licenses," Custer said in a written release. "This should allow the Supreme Court to issue a ruling tomorrow allowing Mr. Hanes to resume issuing those licenses." After the federal judge struck down the state's same-sex marriage ban on Tuesday, Hanes said he was looking forward to having the restrictions that were implemented by the lawsuit lifted.

Hanes: "I am hopeful that the Pennsylvania Supreme Court will act swiftly to remove this last obstacle to marriage equality in Pennsylvania, and I look forward to once again issuing marriage licenses to all who seek them."

PA County Clerk Files Supreme Court Bid To Resume Granting Marriage Licenses

Montgomery County Clerk Bruce Hanes has petitioned the Pennsylvania Supreme Court for permission to resume granting same-sex marriage licenses. In September a state appellate court ordered Hanes to stop after he had issued 174 licenses to gay couples.

Hanes says the court order forced him to violate his oath by complying with a law he regards as unconstitutional. He cites the U.S. Supreme Court’s June ruling that the federal government could not deny benefits to married same-sex couples who live in states that allow same-sex marriage, as well as state Attorney General Kathleen Kane’s subsequent refusal to defend the law against a federal court challenge because she considers it unconstitutional. Hanes also contends the Health Department lacked legal standing to take him to court. James Schultz, Gov. Tom Corbett’s general counsel, had no immediate comment on the filing, said Schultz’s spokesman, Joshua Maus.

RELATED: In a separate action, the ACLU is suing Gov. Tom Corbett on behalf of several gay couples. That case is set to go to trial in June.

PENNSYLVANIA: County Clerk Appeals Marriage Ruling To State Supreme Court

And now there's another case heading to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.

After mulling it over for nearly a month, the Montgomery County Register of Wills has filed his appeal to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, asking for a reversal of the order handed down from commonwealth court barring him from issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. On Sept. 12, Commonwealth Court President Judge Dan Pellegrini granted a writ of mandamus — sought by the Pennsylvania Department of Health — against D. Bruce Hanes, Clerk of the Orphan’s Court and register of wills for Montgomery County.

By the time of the ruling, Hanes had issued 170 licenses to couples from across Pennsylvania. The status of those that completed their marriages remains in limbo.

RELATED: Last month Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett hired outside counsel to represent the state in a marriage suit brought by the ACLU on behalf of 32 gay couples. State Attorney General Kathleen Kane has refused to defend against the suit.

PENNSYLVANIA: Rep. Steve McCarter Explains Plan For Marriage Equality Bill

McCarter is the bill's chief co-sponsor with openly gay Rep. Brian Sims. Separate from the legislative action, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett has hired an outside law firm to defend the state against a marriage equality suit filed in July by the ACLU.  And Montgomery County's attorney is expected to appeal the decision forcing County Clerk Bruce Hanes to stop issuing licenses. It's busy in PA.

Are Those Pennsylvania Marriages Valid?

After a judge ordered Pennsylvania's Montgomery County to cease issuing same-sex marriage licenses, many are wondering about the validity of the licenses already granted.

Montgomery County Register of Wills D. Bruce Hanes said Thursday he was disappointed but would comply with the decision by Commonwealth Court Judge Dan Pellegrini. Hanes said he thinks the 174 licenses he handed out are legally valid. "I believe they are ... but I can't make that decision," he said. Robert Heim, a lawyer for some of the same-sex couples who obtained licenses from Hanes, noted that Pellegrini said the legality of the licenses was not an issue before him. "The 32 couples that I represent are going to have to decide whether they also want to litigate it in the Commonwealth Court, since Judge Pellegrini virtually invited it," Heim said.

One local attorney believe the marriages should stand.

A Norristown attorney says yesterday’s decision by a Pennsylvania Commonwealth judge may have stopped any more licenses from being issued to same-sex couples in Montgomery County, but those that have been issued cannot be taken back. Family attorney Dan Clifford says he is reviewing the decision of Judge Dante Pellegrini, which orders the Montgomery County register of wills to stop issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Clifford adds that same-sex couples who had made marriage license applications but had not received a license are in limbo for the time being.

Some of those 174 couples are regular JMG participants.

Brian Brown Cheers Pennsylvania

"This is a victory for marriage. We are pleased that Judge Pellegrini reiterated that Pennsylvania law expressly defines marriage as the union of one man and one woman. The people of Pennsylvania should be grateful to Governor Corbett for his leadership on this issue. As the chief executive of the state, he properly used his office to uphold the law and stop the potential spread of these rogue actions. Now we ask that he use the influence of his office to have the 'marriage' licenses that were issued declared invalid." - Hate group leader Brian Brown, cheering yesterday's ruling that stopped the issuing of same-sex marriage licenses in Montgomery County.

PA Judge Orders Montgomery County To Stop Issuing Same-Sex Marriage Licenses

Breaking news from ABC's Philadelphia affiliate:

A Pennsylvania judge is stopping a suburban Philadelphia court clerk from issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples, saying it was a clear violation of his legal authority. Commonwealth Court Judge Dan Pellegrini on Thursday issued an order that said Montgomery County Register of Wills Bruce Hanes didn't have the power to decide on his own whether the same-sex marriage ban violates the state constitution. Hanes issued four more licenses to same-sex couples on Wednesday, bringing the total number to 174.

Some of those couples are JMG participants. I'll update this post as more information comes in. (Tipped by JMG reader Ed)

UPDATE: Here's the full ruling.

Quote Of The Day - Bruce Hanes

"I don’t see myself as a crusader. Some people have said I’ve broken the law, which I may have done. But I’ve broken an unconstitutional law. It’s not about me. It’s a serious equal protection argument at stake here. I don’t want to speculate about the outcome of the case. But I firmly believe that I’m on the right side of history." - Montgomery County Clerk Bruce Hanes, who says he will not attend today's Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court hearing on whether he broke the law by issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

PA Marriage Hearing Is Tomorrow

From the Associated Press:

Wednesday's hearing in Harrisburg pits Gov. Tom Corbett's Health Department against D. Bruce Hanes, Montgomery County's register of wills, who issues marriage licenses as part of his duties as clerk of the county orphan's court. Hanes began giving marriage licenses to gay couples in late July, shortly after the U.S. Supreme Court threw out portions of the federal Defense of Marriage Act. Pennsylvania is the only Northeastern state that has neither gay marriage nor civil unions, but the legality of the more than 150 such licenses Hanes has handed out remains an open question.

David Cohen, an attorney representing 32 couples who received licenses from Hanes, says it's too early to speculate on the legal status of those marriages. "That's certainly unknown because it would depend on the scope of the decision," Cohen said. But he added that there's plenty of legal precedent for courts to look at the core issue of how a local official decides whether an action is constitutional.The case is one of several nationwide that have put county clerks in a legal spotlight of late and harkens back to initial efforts in California nearly a decade ago to push for same-sex marriage.

(Tipped by JMG reader David)

Lawyers For PA Gov. Tom Corbett Call Same-Sex Marriage Licenses Meaningless

Yesterday lawyers for Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett filed a brief calling the marriage licenses issued by Montgomery County "meaningless" and compared them to allowing 12 year-old children to marry.

Thirty-two of the couples have petitioned to intervene in the case, arguing that a ruling against Hanes could also invalidate their marriages. The state filed a brief Wednesday opposing the couples' participation, arguing that their marriage licenses hold no "actual value or legitimacy" and thus have no right to be defended in court. "Had the clerk issued marriage licenses to 12-year-olds in violation of state law, would anyone seriously contend that each 12-year-old is entitled to a hearing on the validity of his 'license'?" the state wrote. If the couples wish to defend their "purported marriage licenses," the state wrote, they should file their own lawsuit or wait for the outcome of a federal challenge to Pennsylvania's marriage law. "This case is about one thing: whether a local official may willfully disregard a statute based on his personal legal opinion that the statute is unconstitutional," they wrote.

Several of those 32 couples are longtime JMG readers and commenters.

PENNSYLVANIA: Court Defines Issues For Montgomery County Marriages Cases

Pennsylvania's Commonwealth Court has published five guidelines that define the issues to be decided in the lawsuit to stop Montgomery County from issuing same-sex marriage licenses.

According to the court directive, the five main issues to be argued in the lawsuit include whether Commonwealth Court has jurisdiction, because Hanes might be considered a judicial officer, and whether the issuance of a marriage license is even a judicial act at all. Another issue is whether the Pennsylvania Health Department, which filed the lawsuit against Hanes, has the legal standing to sue. If it does not, a judge will have to determine whether Attorney General Kathleen Kane’s refusal to defend the state’s marriage act has any implications for the case. Since the Health Department is asking the court to issue a writ of mandamus against Hanes — essentially ordering him to stop issuing the licenses — a judge will also have to decide whether his actions are constitutional.

The case begins on September 4th. (Tipped by JMG reader Samuel)

PENNSYLVANIA: Gay Couples Seek To Intervene In Montgomery County Case

Last week Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett joined the state Health Department in filing suit against Montgomery County, demanding that Clerk Bruce Hanes cease issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Yesterday 31 gay couples, including some JMG readers, filed a motion to intervene and be named as parties in the case. Read the full filing. (Via JMG reader Jeffrey Becker, who is named in the filing with his fiance, Kevin Taylor.)