gay marriage

Harrisburg residents Julie Lobur and Marla Cattermole were among the 23 plaintiffs in a lawsuit filed last year in federal district court in Pennsylvania challenging the state's marriage equality laws. Lobur and Cattermole were married in Iowa in 2009 but receive none of the benefits extended to spouses under Pennsylvania law. (Ivey DeJesus, PennLive)

A federal judge has ruled that Pennsylvania's ban on gay marriages is unconstitutional.

U.S. Middle District Judge John Jones on Tuesday overturned the state's 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, which in addition to prohibiting gay marriages, banned recognition of gay marriages performed in states that have legalized it.

PennLive is in the process of reviewing the court's opinion and will continue to update coverage on this decision.

Dauphin County preparing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples

Jones, a Republican appointed in 2002 by then-President George W. Bush, garnered international attention when he presided over the intelligent design case in the Dover Area School District.

The Pennsylvania lawsuit - originally known as Whitewood vs. Corbett - was filed last July by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of 23 plaintiffs. The couples argued that Pennsylvania's statute violated equal rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution.

The lawsuit initially named named Corbett and state Attorney General Kathleen Kane as defendants. Kane, who support gay marriage, last year said she could not ethically defend the state in the lawsuit and deferred the case to the governor's office.

POLL: Do you agree with the end of the gay marriage ban in Pennsylvania?

In November, both sides of the case agreed to dismiss Corbett and Kane as defendants. State Revenue Secretary Dan Meuser was added as a defendant.

PennLive will continue to provide full coverage of today's court decision, including reaction from gay marriage proponents and opponents.

Pennsylvania's decision comes one day after a federal judge in Oregon overturned that state's ban on gay marriage. Until today, Pennsylvania had remained the only state in the northeast to grant no recognition to gay marriages. A new New Jersey high court last year upheld a lower court ruling ordering that state to recognize same-sex marriages.

Massachusetts 10 years ago this month became the first state to legalize gay marriages.

The issue remains central to lawsuits, legislation or referendum boxes across several other states, including Hawaii, Illinois, Michigan and Virginia.

Pennsylvania is the eighth state in which a federal judge has overturned a gay marriage ban since the U.S. Supreme Court last year struck down key parts of the federal Defense of Marriage Act.

In April both the defendants and the plaintiffs asked the court to issue a summary judgment in lieu of a trial.