EQUALITY TODAY: Dept. of Justice Stays Out of Marriage Fight, Major PA Group Backs ENDA, and More


We’re keeping you on your gay-game with this daily rundown of stories pertaining to Pennsylvania’s ongoing fight for equality. 

MARRIAGE RECOGNITION: Dept. of Justice Stays Out Of PA Gay Marriage Fight

The U.S. Department of Justice … declined to intervene in a suit challenging a Pennsylvania law that bars recognition of same-sex marriages performed in other jurisdictions, after DOJ attorneys concluded that the case did not implicate the federal Defense of Marriage Act.

The government said that a suit challenging Pennsylvania’s same-sex marriage ban could be decided without the court weighing in on the constitutionality of a provision of DOMA, known as Section 2, that gives states the right to refuse recognition of same-sex marriages carried [out in other states.] —Law 360

ENDA NEWS: PA AFL-CIO Backs PA Non-discrimination Bills

The Pennsylvania American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (PA AFL-CIO) voted on a resolution today to partner with Equality PA to support the passage of[SB 300/HB 30], bills that amend the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act by prohibiting discrimination in employment, housing, and public accommodation on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity or expression. —Equality PA

CITIZEN PROTEST: Two Men to Marry in Lambertville Pride Parade, Then Return to PA Home

A bistate parade planned for May 17 will take participants from New Jersey, which recognizes same-sex marriages, to Pennsylvania, which doesn’t.

Two of them, men living in Bucks County, plan to be wed by Mayor David DelVecchio during the parade, on Bridge Street in Lambertville, N.J.

Then the New Hope Celebrates Pride Parade continues to the men’s home state, where lawsuits are challenging the 1996 statute in Pennsylvania defining marriage as a union between “one man and one woman.”

It’s the first year the parade will wind through streets in both states. It will start at 11:30 a.m. near City Hall in Lambertville on North Union Street and end on South Main Street in New Hope. —NJ.com