Gay Marriage Pennsylvania

Ellen Toplin and Charlene Kurland hold hands as they obtain a marriage license at a Montgomery County office despite a state law banning such unions, Wednesday, July 24, 2013, in Norristown, Pa. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Marriage licenses given to same-sex couples in the state are invalid because the couples were barred from marrying, just like 12-year-olds, Republican Gov. Tom Corbett's attorneys said Wednesday.

Corbett's administration has filed a lawsuit seeking to block same-sex marriage licenses in Montgomery County, where Register of Wills D. Bruce Hanes has issued more than 150 to gay and lesbian couples since July 24.

State attorneys said in a court filing on Wednesday the gay marriage licenses have no "value or legitimacy" and can't be defended in court. They compared gay and lesbian couples to children, who can't marry because a 1996 law says marriage is between a man and a woman.

"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, according to a story on the Philly.com news website.

Hanes says the law is unconstitutional and discriminatory. He's scheduled to appear in Commonwealth Court next week in the case.

More than 30 gay and lesbian couples that received marriage licenses from Hanes say a ruling against him could invalidate their marriages, and they've sought to participate in the case.

The state opposes their participation and their efforts to defend what it calls their "purported marriage licenses." It said the gay and lesbian couples should file their own lawsuits or wait to see what happens with a federal challenge to the state'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," the state's lawyers wrote.