News Release – Which Law Will be Next?

News Release
For Immediate Release: June 25, 2014
Contact: Diane Gramley 1.814.271.9078 or 1.814.437.5355

Same-Sex Marriage Legalized in PA by One Activist Judge and Lawmakers Who Want Issue to Go Away

(Harrisburg) —  Inaction on the part of Governor Corbett and the majority of legislators to counter the unconstitutional actions of an unelected judge resulted in the legalization of same-sex marriage in Pennsylvania last week. News accounts saying Pennsylvania legalized same-sex marriage are an exaggeration of what actually happened — Judge John E. Jones III legalized same-sex “marriage,” not Pennsylvanians or their elected representatives. On May 20th, PA’s primary election day, an unelected judge flexed his unrestrained muscle and struck down our constitutionally passed Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). The American Family Association of Pennsylvania (AFA of PA), a statewide advocate for natural marriage, warns that such actions by unelected judges will only lead to anarchy and lawlessness.

“Judge John Jones’ actions on May 20th do not reflect the views of the majority of Pennsylvanians; they simply show a judge marching in lockstep with other federal judges who have not taken the time to read the Constitution nor the Supreme Court ruling from last June which only struck down Section 3 of the federal DOMA which defined marriage for federal purposes. Left intact was the section allowing states to define their own marriage laws. The unconstitutional actions of these judges now target marriage. What will they target next – the First or Second Amendment?” questioned Diane Gramley, president of the AFA of PA.

Judge John Jones, described as a conservative judge by some, was nominated by President George W. Bush in 2002 with the blessing of Governor Tom Ridge, Senator Arlen Specter and Senator Rick Santorum. Santorum’s part in Jones’ nomination would explain the silence emanating from his office concerning this recent outrageous decision.

Pennsylvania’s legislative body had the opportunity to take action to reclaim our state’s rights as defined in the Tenth Amendment and to urge Governor Corbett to appeal Jones’ decision by passing SR 403  and
HR 891.  However, leadership in the PA House and Senate did not want to deal with the marriage issue – hoping it would just go away. This lack of backbone is one reason voter turnout is so low in PA. There is very little leadership in Harrisburg that stands up for the values the majority of Pennsylvanians hold.

“The unwillingness of Governor Corbett and the majority of legislators to take action on the unconstitutional usurpation of power by Judge John Jones, only encourages such actions to continue. Article I, Section 1 of the US Constitution makes it very clear that all legislative power rests within the Congress — period — not within the Judicial Branch.   Article II Section 1 of the PA Constitution states clearly that the legislative power within the Commonwealth rests in the General Assembly. Again the question which law will next be thrown out or rewritten by an activist judge?” continued Gramley.

# # #