Action Alert: Ask Governor Corbett to Appoint Someone to Defend DOMA

AFA of PA ACTION ALERT

July 12, 2013

Issue

Ask Governor  Corbett to Appoint Someone to Defend DOMA

Details

Pennsylvania’s Attorney General Kathleen Kane is refusing to defend our Defense of Marriage Act.  Apparently the Commonwealth Attorneys Act gives her that option, although she may be stretching the interpretation of that law.  Governor Corbett can appoint someone else to defend it, although at this point he has not.   Click here to read our news release.

Last night a group of State House members sent a letter to Attorney General Kathleen Kane questioning her decision not to defend DOMA.  A copy was sent to Governor Corbett.   Here’s what the letter says in part:

“We are troubled by your announcement, as the Commonwealth’s Chief Law Enforcement Officer and an important part of the executive branch of government, that you have made the unilateral decision to refuse to defend a duly enacted Pennsylvania statutory law.  We have no doubt that opponents to the law will cheer your decision.  Nor do we doubt that supporters of the law will decry it.  All of that is immaterial to the fundamental question, which is whether you will choose to ignore your constitutional and statutory obligation to defend Pennsylvania laws.”

These State House members signed onto the letter:  Jerry Stern, Sam Smith, Mike Turzai, Sandy Major, Paul Clymer, John McGinnis, Jim Cox, Gordon Denlinger, Matt Gabler, Rob Kauffman, Fred Keller, Mark Keller, Tim Krieger, David Maloney, Mark Mustio, Daryl Metcalfe, Kathy Rapp, Becky Corbin, Seth Grove, Jerry Knowles, RoseMarie Swanger, John Lawrence, Todd Rock, Dan Truitt.   If one of these is your State Representative, please thank him or her for signing the letter and also ask them to support HB 1349, the Marriage Protection Amendment bill.       Legislators can no longer say, our DOMA is sufficient to protect natural marriage in PA.

Just an FYI:  Judge John E. Jones III was assigned late Tuesday to handle the Whitewood v. Corbett case.  He is probably best known for the 2005 case which found the Dover Area School District was trying to impose a state religion on their students by teaching Intelligent Design.

Action Steps

Go to our ACTION CENTER and ask Governor Corbett to appoint someone to defend DOMA and also ask him to use his position to push for passage of Representative Daryl Metcalfe’s Marriage Protection Amendment — HB 1349.