PA Considering Measures To Legally Recognize Same-Sex Marriages

HARRISBURG, PA — State representative and U.S. Senate candidate Malcolm Kenyatta has introduced a bill that would repeal a current Pennsylvania state law that only recognizes marriage between a man and a woman.

The Philadelphia legislator, who is gay, cited the U.S. Supreme Court's 2015 ruling legalizing marriage for same-sex couples as the reason to roll back "outdated, unconstitutional and unnecessary sections of law that prohibit marriage equality."

"It is a disservice to all of our fellow Pennsylvanians in loving, same-sex marriages to continue to allow this obsolete section of law to exist," Kenyatta wrote in a recent memo to colleagues. "Please join me in co-sponsoring this legislation to protect and show continued compassion and support for marriage equality in our great state."

Kenyatta, 30, a Democrat is in his second term in the House. He announced in February that he is running for the U.S. Senate seat that Republican Pat Toomey will retire from at the end of 2022.

A similar marriage measure was introduced in the state Senate by Sen. Carolyn Comitta of Chester County.

"As legislators, it is our duty to make sure that we continue to retain laws that reflect the will of our constituents," she said in a memo to other senators. "It's a disservice to all of our fellow Pennsylvanians in loving, same-sex marriages to continue to allow this obsolete section of law to exist. "

It is unclear when the House or Senate could vote on the marriage bills.