US: Lawyer says Pennsylvania Governor can’t be sued for equal marriage ban
A lawyer acting on behalf of Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett has said he and his health secretary can’t be sued for the state’s equal marriage ban.
William Lamb, acting on behalf of the Governor said that claims against Corbett in a pending lawsuit should be dismissed, as he cannot be sued in federal court for the ban.
According to Lamb, the US Constitution bans lawsuits from being filed against state officials without their consent.
It went further to say that Corbett and Health Secretary Michael Wolf cannot be sued in such a court, as federal courts have no jurisdiction over such matters.
The lawsuit against the two was filed in July on behalf of 23 men, women and children. It is not the first legal challenge to Pennsylvania’s same-sex marriage ban.
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 came 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.
