Marital Parity Permitted Within Pennsylvania

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 3, 2024
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Legislation Affirming Marriage Equality Secures Passage in PA House for Initial Occasion in Commonwealth's History
House Bill 2269 Approved by Pennsylvania House with 133-68 Tally

HARRISBURG, Pa. — On the afternoon of Tuesday, the Pennsylvania House, through a momentous vote of one hundred thirty-three to sixty-eight, successfully advanced a measure designed to embed the principle of marriage equality within a state statute. This ballot on HB 2269 marks the inaugural instance where legislation concerning marital parity has navigated its way through a chamber of the General Assembly. The proposed bill garnered endorsement from all House Democrats, with the sole exception of Representative Frank Burns (D-Cambria), and was further supported by thirty-two House Republicans - representing approximately one-third of the Republican members present for the vote in the chamber. Prior to this, on June 12, 2024, the bill had already cleared the House Judiciary Committee with a seventeen-to-eight majority.

Responding to this significant vote, Preston Heldibridle, the Executive Director for the Pennsylvania Youth Congress, articulated that the PA House had indeed created a historical moment by recognizing that marital equality inherently necessitates being enshrined in the state's legal framework. He asserted that LGBTQ Pennsylvanians, quite justifiably, should possess the ability to marry their chosen partners without any lingering apprehension concerning the capricious nature of political shifts or any prospective determinations made by the United States Supreme Court. Heldibridle moreover contended that this particular vote serves to corroborate the widespread bipartisan endorsement for updating the language contained within the state's existing statute, thereby embracing the clear reality that marriage equality enjoys extensive support among Pennsylvanians. In his view, matrimony, at its core, ought to revolve around the celebration of an affectionate bond between two consenting adults. Ultimately, he posited, marital equality represents, quite simply, the most appropriate public policy for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

During deliberations on the House floor, Representatives Jessica Benham (D-Allegheny) and Malcolm Kenyatta (D-Philadelphia) voiced their advocacy for the legislative proposal, while conversely, Representatives Stephanie Borowicz (R-Clinton) and Paul Schemel (R-Franklin) expressed their opposition to the measure.

Despite the prevailing legal standard of marriage equality having been established nationwide through a United States District Court ruling in Whitewood during 2014, and subsequently affirmed across the entirety of the nation by the United States Supreme Court's Obergefell decision in 2015, Pennsylvania continues to retain an existing statute (which is, in fact, invalid) that specifically bars the recognition of same-sex marriages by the state government. It was in 1996 that Pennsylvania's General Assembly enacted Section 1704 of Title 23: Domestic Relations, which then defined marriage exclusively as a union between a man and a woman. Earlier legislative efforts to introduce constitutional amendments aimed at prohibiting marriage equality in PA and submitting them to voters in 2006, 2008, and 2010 were, notably, unsuccessful.

The initial legislative proposal addressing the acknowledgment of same-sex relationships was put forth by former Representative Mark Cohen (D-Philadelphia) in 2010, aiming to provide for civil unions. Representative Cohen re-introduced this bill in 2011, concurrently with the first comprehensive marriage equality bills that were tabled by Representative Babette Josephs (D-Philadelphia) in the state House and Senator Daylin Leach (D-Montgomery) in the state Senate during that same year. Following the United States Supreme Court's ruling in Windsor, which effectively invalidated the federal "Defense of Marriage Act" (DOMA) and consequently permitted the U.S. government to recognize same-sex unions in 2013, Representative Cohen again presented a marriage equality bill in 2013, and once more in 2015. Senator Leach, for his part, also re-introduced marriage equality legislation in the state Senate during 2013. No legislative initiatives for marriage equality were brought before the General Assembly until 2019 and 2021, when a bill was filed in both of those sessions by Representatives Kenyatta and Danilo Burgos (D-Philadelphia). Senator Carolyn Comitta (D-Chester) further introduced marriage equality bills in the state Senate in both 2021 and 2023, where the measure presently awaits consideration within the Senate Judiciary Committee. HB 2269 itself was initially introduced in 2023 by its principal sponsors: Representatives Kenyatta, Jessica Benham (D-Allegheny), Burgos, and Mayes.

In 2022, Congress codified the Respect for Marriage Act into law to ensure statutory marriage equality, building upon the precedent set by Obergefell. In the U.S. House, the legislation passed with a final vote of two hundred fifty-eight to one hundred sixty-nine, with ten of Pennsylvania's eighteen U.S. House members casting their votes in favor of the concluding bill - these included Representatives Boyle, Cartwright, Dean, Doyle, Evans, Fitzpatrick, Houlahan, Lamb, Scanlon, and Wild. Notably, in July 2022, during the House's initial deliberation of the legislation, prior to any Senate amendments, Representatives Meuser and Perry also voted for the measure. Senator Bob Casey voted in affirmation of the legislation upon its final passage, whereas Senator Pat Toomey was recorded as abstaining from the vote.

This momentous bill's passage in the PA House stands as one of only a select few LGBTQ rights legislative pieces to ever receive a full floor vote.

HB 2269 is now advancing toward the state Senate for its next phase.