In the wake of the last week’s decision
by D. Bruce Hanes, the Montgomery County, Pennsylvania Register of
Wills, to begin issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples despite a
state ban on marriage equality, conservatives in the state have been up
in arms about the county official’s move.
As Think Progress reports,
a group of around 20 members of the Pro-Life Coalition of PA has taken
to protesting outside the Montgomery County Courthouse against Hanes’s
decision. Main Line Media News has more:
“It’s not about love. It’s about children,” said Michael McMonagle, president of the Pro-Life Coalition. “There’s a thing called just discrimination. For example, should blind people be allowed to vote? Of course they should, because not being able to see has nothing to do with having the right to vote. Should blind people get a driver’s license? Of course not, because being able to see is essential to being able to drive.
“Heterosexuality is essential to the meaning of marriage. Civil government has an interest in producing future children. It’s utter arrogance to think that we can redefine the institution that has been the bedrock of all society throughout history.”
In addition to stopping Hanes, McMonagle said the coalition came out to push two other main points — to urge District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman to press charges against Hanes for breaking the law and for Gov. Tom Corbett to “zealously defend Pennsylvania’s marriage law.”
Marriages between same-sex couples, McMonagle said, are “inherently unequal because [they] cannot produce children.”
As of the end of last week, 26 couples had obtained licenses from
Hanes’s office. Raymond McGarry, the Montgomery County solicitor, told Main Line Media News that
he is unaware of any legal actions to stop Hanes from issuing such
licenses. The Register of Wills says he has no plans of reversing his
decision.
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