Kathleen Kane, Pennsylvania Attorney General, Will Not Defend State's Gay Marriage Ban

Pennsylvania AG Abandons State Gay Marriage Ban

Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane (D) announced Thursday that she would not defend the state's gay marriage ban against a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union.

"I cannot ethically defend the constitutionality of Pennsylvania's version of DOMA as I believe it to be wholly unconstitutional," she said at a press conference at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia.

The ACLU had named Kane, Gov. Tom Corbett (R) and three other state officials in a lawsuit. The case is being brought by 23 plaintiffs, including 10 LGBT couples, two children of another such couple, and a woman who lost her same-sex partner after 29 years together.

The suit follows the Supreme Court decision declaring the federal Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutional. The ACLU is also challenging same-sex marriage bans in North Carolina and Virginia.

Corbett's office recently said that the governor supports the state's gay marriage ban, which passed the legislature in 1996.

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