Same Sex Marriage

Commonwealth courts in Pennsylvania must give equal legal status to same-sex marriages legally entered into in other states before Pennsylvania law sanctioned gay marriage, according to an opinion by a Pennsylvania Superior Court panel. The ruling, handed down on December 28, 2016, actually addressed whether parties to a same-sex union that was performed in Vermont could seek to end the legal relationship in Pennsylvania. The court said they could.

In the matter before the court, the parties, two women who entered into a civil union in Vermont in 2002, sought to terminate the legal relationship, but ran into a hurdle when a Philadelphia County family court judge asserted that she lacked authority to dissolve the union. Senior Judge James J. Fitzgerald, writing for the panel, concluded that Pennsylvania must consider Vermont civil unions the same manner as marriages approved under Pennsylvania law. He further ruled that, if Pennsylvania marriage laws apply to the union, so do Pennsylvania divorce laws.

The parties to the divorce action, Freyda Neyman and Florence Buckley, entered into a civil union in Vermont when that state was the only one in the country that permitted same-sex unions. At the time, Vermont did not use the term “marriage” to refer to same-sex unions. The state officially applied the term “marriage” to same-sex unions in 2009.

Buckley and Neyman stayed together only five months. When they sought a legal ruling in Pennsylvania in 2014 to terminate their civil union, their request was denied by Judge Margaret Theresa Murphy, who ruled that, pursuant to Pennsylvania law, she could only grant divorces to couples who were bound “in matrimony.”

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Is Justice Thomas Correct? Is Supreme Court Clearing Way for Same Sex Marriage?

In a scathing dissent, Justice Clarence Thomas of the United States Supreme Court complained that the high court’s refusal to block the ruling in a federal district in Alabama, invalidating that state’s ban on same-sex marriage was tantamount to paving the way for gay marriage nationwide. Many legal experts agree. Judge Callie V.S. Granade, of the Federal District Court for the Southern District of Alabama, held the state’s laws prohibiting same-sex marriage to violate the U.S. Constitution.

Legal authorities across the country believe that Thomas is correct, that in light of its recent actions, the Supreme Court has decided not to interfere with the trend toward nationwide legalization of same-sex marriage. In the last six months, the high court has refused to hear appeals from numerous states where same-sex marriage bans were found to be unconstitutional. During that time period, the number of states permitting same-sex marriage has grown from 19 to 37.

Though the high court has ruled on the Alabama law, the matter is far from settled there. In actions reminiscent of the state’s belligerent opposition to civil right in the 1960s, top public officials have ordered probate judges to ignore the Supreme Court ruling. Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy S. Moore ordered Alabama probate judges on Sunday not to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Thus far, probate judges in 52 of Alabama’s 67 counties have complied with Judge Moore’s order. Many same-sex marriages were held, though, in the 15 counties where license were issued.

In Justice Thomas’s dissent, he contended that the Supreme Court decision, in United States v. Windsor, which in 2013 invalidated some provisions of the federal Defense of Marriage Act as unconstitutional, did not resolve all issues. He argued that the status quo should have remained in effect in Alabama until those questions were addressed by the high court. In his opinion, the court’s refusal to hear appeals amounted to “acquiescence” and “a signal of the court’s intended resolution of the question.”

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An Overview of State Laws on Same-Sex Marriage

As of February, 2015, 37 states and the District of Columbia have all either formally legitimized gay marriage or plan to do so. Thus far, federal courts have dealt with the 14th Amendment issues raised by proponents of gay marriage on a state-by-state basis. In January, 2015, however, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear arguments on whether the 14th Amendment requires all states to allow same-sex marriage. A decision is expected this year.

Public opinion on same-sex marriage has shifted dramatically in the last 15 years. In 2000, a poll showed that only 35% of people thought gay marriage should be legal. In 2014, a similar poll found 55% of Americans in favor of gay marriage.

A look at the history of gay marriage in the United States shows an interesting phenomenon—the response to the decision by the Massachusetts Supreme Court in 2003, allowing gay marriage in the state, was reactionary. Before that decision, only two states had constitutional bans on gay marriage. The year following that decision, 14 more states added constitutional bans, and as recently as 2012, nearly 30 states banned same-sex marriage. Currently, 15 states have constitutional amendments defining marriage to be between a man and a woman, but those proscriptions are rapidly falling under 14th Amendment arguments.

Geographically, the remaining constitutional bans are primarily clustered in the southern states—Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi and Georgia still have bans, whereas Florida, the Carolinas, Virginia, West Virginia, Oklahoma and Kansas allow gay marriage. Missouri’s law was invalidated in late 2014 and Alabama’s ban was ruled unconstitutional earlier this year.20. The Dakotas ban the practice, but Nebraska’s constitutional provision was recently struck down. In addition, Michigan and Ohio remain legally opposed to gay marriage.

Contact the Law Office of Joanne E. Kleiner & Associates

Let us help you successfully resolve your family law problems. To schedule an appointment with an experienced Pennsylvania family law attorney, contact our office online or call us at 215-886-1266.