ACLU Sues for Gay Marriage in Pennsylvania

Sets sights on Virginia, North Carolina
By Matt Cantor,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 9, 2013 11:23 AM CDT
ACLU Sues for Gay Marriage in Pennsylvania
The ACLU is hoping Pennsylvania will begin allowing gay marriage.   (Shutterstock)

The ACLU isn't wasting any time in expanding gay marriage following the Supreme Court's big rulings. First up: a lawsuit in Pennsylvania seeking to end the state's ban on same-sex vows, the New York Times reports. The suit has 23 plaintiffs including a truck driver, a stay-at-home-mom, a doctor, and two teen kids of a lesbian couple. "I want to prove that young people like myself can change the world if they stand up for what they believe in," says Abbey Whitewood, 16.

Since 1996, Pennsylvania law has said marriage is a union between a man and a woman; the state doesn't recognize outside same-sex marriages. It's the only northeastern state that doesn't allow either gay marriage or civil unions, the AP notes. After it launches its Harrisburg effort, the ACLU plans to target Virginia and North Carolina. The organization hopes that a state-by-state approach will color future Supreme Court decisions. Opponents are frustrated that the organization is working via the court system. That "takes it out of the hands of the people," says one. (More gay marriage stories.)

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