US: Pennsylvania Governor compares same-sex marriage to incest
The Governor of Pennsylvania has restated his opposition to same-sex marriage by comparing it to incest.
Republican governor Tom Corbett, who has held the position since 2011, made the remark this morning 4 October during a news broadcast by WHP-TV in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
The Governor was asked about a statement his lawyers made in August, when they told a court that issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples was no different from issuing marriage licenses to children.
The 64-year-old, who had previously admitted the remark was “inappropriate,” told the station he now thinks “a much better analogy would have been brother and sister, don’t you?”
He also used the appearance to say that he doesn’t think a pending legal challenge to Pennsylvania’s ban on same-sex marriage belongs in federal court.
Governor Corbett’s comments come less than 24 hours after two Pennsylvania lawmakers announced plans to introduce a bill to legalise same-sex marriage in the state.
Despite Governor Corbett’s staunch opposition to equal marriage, the two lawmakers said they were encouraged by growing support for the measure and that more than 30 lawmakers have signed onto the bill as co-sponsors.
Currently, thirteen US states (California, Connecticut, Delaware, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington), the District of Columbia and several counties in New Mexico allow same-sex marriage.
Courts are currently litigating on the issue in the states of New Jersey and New Mexico.
