Philadelphia (AP) – Officials outside Philadelphia are issuing marriage licenses to a pair of gay couples, despite a state law banning such unions.
A Montgomery County official says the two female couples applied for the licenses Wednesday. The suburban county is the state’s third most populous.
The developments come a day after Register of Wills D. Bruce Hanes said he would grant licenses to gay couples because he wants to come down “on the right side of history and the law.”
Attorneys with the Americans Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania caution that courts could invalidate the marriages. The group has a separate lawsuit pending to challenge the state law.
Pennsylvania is the only northeastern state without same-sex marriages or civil unions.
