Pennsylvania has it's first same-sex marriage

The first same-sex marriage has taken place in Pennsylvania. Time will tell if the union will stand up in legal circles.

Alicia Terrizzi and Loreen Bloodgood, who have been together 17 years,  are one of two couples who have been issued marriage licenses in Montgomery county after Bruce Hanes, the county Register of Wills, announced that he is willing to grant marriage licenses to same-sex couples yesterday. The county clerk has also said that he will approve any other same-sex couples applying for a marriage license.

Hanes, an independently elected Democrat, told reporters that he wishes to be "on the right side of history and the law." He also cited Windsor v. United States, the Supreme Court case that torpedoed DOMA, as well as the ACLU's current suit in federal court to overturn Pennsylvania's same-sex marriage ban, a case that Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane has announced that she will not defend.

Molly Tack-Hooper, a spokesperson for the ACLU, noted that this is not the first time that a county has defied a state's same-sex marriage ban:

"We know how it has played out in a few other states; we don’t know how it might turn out in Pennsylvania. Gay and lesbian couples seeking marriage licenses in Montgomery County should be aware that there might be uncertainty about the legal statuses of those marriages for a while because unfortunately in other states, governments have later invalidated the marriages."

(via Towleroad)