There are currently five lawsuits in Pennsylvania attempting to win the freedom to marry for same-sex couples. The Keystone State is the final holdout in the Northeast, where America’s marriage equality movement began a decade ago.
News broke today that in one of the five lawsuits, lawyers for the plaintiffs — a group including eleven same-sex couples and a widow, Maureen Hennessey — filed a motion for summary judgment, and asked the judge to rule without a trial.
The state of Pennsylvania in Whitewood v. Wolf will not be presenting any “experts” in the case to argue against same-sex marriage, nor will they argue against the harms raised by the plaintiffs asking for the right to marry. Plaintiffs are arguing that there is, therefore, no need for a trial and want the judge to move his ruling up.
If the judge agrees, he could rule anytime after May 12, when all filings are due.
“It’s difficult to explain to our five-year-old son why his parents are not married. I hope that we will be able to marry in Pennsylvania before our younger child is old enough to ask the same questions,†Diana Polson, one of the plaintiffs, told the ACLU, which is arguing their case.
“Every single time we cross the Delaware River to come home, my heart drops a little as I remember that here, in our home, we are not married,†said Plaintiff David Palmer. Palmer and Ed Hill got married in Maine after 25 years together but are not recognized as married in Pennsylvania.
“These plaintiffs are as devoted to each other as any other married couples and their families deserve the protections that come with marriage,†said Witold Walczak, the ACLU of Pennsylvania’s legal director. “Today we have provided the court with moving personal stories from all of our plaintiff families describing how this ban hurts them and their loved ones. We hope the judge will see the profound harm caused by this law and strike it down.â€
Watch this video of plaintiff Maureen Hennessey and Mary Beth McIntyre. McIntyre passed away last year:
//www.youtube.com/embed/Th01tQ3fG1s
Via YouTube:
Maureen Hennessey lived with the love of her life, Mary Beth McIntyre, from 1984 until Mary Beth’s death on May 18, 2013, at the age of 55. Together they raised three children in Philadelphia. While Mary Beth was suffering the physical and emotional pain of end stage cancer, she had the additional burden of worrying about how Maureen would manage financially after she was gone. Because their marriage is not recognized in Pennsylvania, Maureen must pay a 15 percent inheritance tax on half of their shared property, including their home. And unless their marriage is recognized in Pennsylvania before Maureen turns 65, Maureen will not be eligible to receive Mary Beth’s Social Security benefits.