Rejecting a Gay Marriage Ban in Pennsylvania

by Michael Jones · 2010-03-15 11:47:00 UTC
Topics:

pennsylvaniaSeveral anti-gay legislators in Pennsylvania have tried time and time again to get a ban on same-sex marriage written into the Keystone State's constitution. For years running these folks have been rejected, although mostly through procedural moves in the State Senate. This year, the Pennsylvania Senate Judiciary Committee may just vote on whether a ban on same-sex marriage should be added to the constitution. And they need to hear from you.

The piece of legislation is known as Senate Bill 707. Don't let the innocuous name fool you -- if the Pennsylvania Senate Judiciary Committee votes to move SB 707 to the floor, the state will move one step closer to banning gay marriage. Given the victories we've had over the past year regarding marriage equality -- from Iowa to Vermont to the District of Columbia -- the last thing we need is a state moving to ban same-sex marriage. That was so 2004. (Or 2008, if you're California.)

Take a moment right now and let the folks on the Pennsylvania Senate Judiciary Committee know that the Keystone state doesn't need to be in the business of dipping their heads into bedrooms and defining relationships. Pennsylvania has many issues to deal with; constitutional amendments prying into the relationships of the state's residents shouldn't be one of them.

Having grown up in Western Pennsylvania, this issue hits close to home for me. In fact, one of the State Senators sitting on the Judiciary Committee, Jane Earll, was my State Senator back when I lived in Pennsylvania. She's Republican, fairly conservative ... but she's no ideologue, and she shouldn't start becoming one now. Truth is, Pennsylvania is full of Republicans who might not be progressive on a host of issues, but have historically had enough sense to say that the state has bigger fish to fry than banning gay marriage. Earll has been one of these folks.

Another has been State Sen. Mary Jo White, who is also on the Judiciary Committee. White has previously said that she's not interested in placing a question about same-sex marriage before voters. Can she pledge that again, please?

Pennsylvania has moved leftward since the heydays of politicos like Rick Santorum. But there's still a vibrant anti-gay crew within the Pennsylvania state legislature. One of them is State Sen. John Eichelberger, who is leading the campaign in the State Senate to ban gay marriage. Another is State Rep. Daryl Metcalfe, who may just be one of the most anti-gay legislators in the entire country. Rep. Metcalfe -- who is incidentally running for Lieutenant Governor in 2010 -- once opposed recognizing Domestic Violence Awareness month because he was worried it was part of the "homosexual agenda." He's also called gay people immoral and sinful.

These are voices that shouldn't win when it comes to Pennsylvania politics. More reasonable heads should prevail. In order for that to happen, we need your help. Send the members of the Pennsylvania Senate Judiciary Committee a message, and let them know that Pennsylvania shouldn't waste its time by debating a ban on same-sex marriage. Such a ban may make the National Organization for Marriage giddy, but it's not in the best interest of Pennsylvania residents -- both gay and straight.

Photo credit: WestendRaider

Michael Jones is a Change.org Editor. He has worked in the field of human rights communications for a decade, most recently for Harvard Law School.
PREVIOUS STORY:
Ken Cuccinelli: Proud Homophobe, Proud Birther?
NEXT STORY:
Bullied high schooler convinces MPAA to change ‘Bully’ rating to “PG-13”

COMMENTS (7)

    Comment Policy

    · All fields are required to comment.

    [X]

    Comments on Change.org are meant for further exploration and evaluation of the campaign on Change.org. To that end, we welcome constructive comments. However, we reserve the right to delete comments which, as determined solely in our discretion: (1) are offensive, abusive, or off-topic; (2) include content solely intended to personally attack the campaign creator, (3) are designed to subvert or hijack comment threads rather than contribute to them; and/or (4) violate our terms of service and/or privacy policy. Repeat offenders may be permanently removed from the site at our discretion. Please also be advised that: (A) we do not actively curate and/or monitor in any manner whatsoever the comments made on the Change.org platform, and (B) the creator of each campaign on Change.org may remove any comment at her/his/its discretion.