Theresa Santai-Gaffney Strikes Again, Filing an “En Banc” Motion With the Third Circuit Court


If at first you don’t succeed, try, and try, and try, and try, and try again. Not a bad matra to live by—unless, of course, you’re Theresa Santai-Gaffney, who seems to be stopping at nothing to make sure we lose our right to marry.

LGBTQ Nation reports that the Schuylkill County register of wills requested an “en banc” hearing by the Third Circuit Court, which means that she wants the entire 14-member bench to decide whether the marriage equality ruling should be appealed. The last time she petitioned the Third Circuit Court only three judges ruled on the motion.

So far, Santai-Gaffney hasn’t had much luck. Earlier this month, Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito denied her motion to stop same-sex marriage in Pennsylvania, and before that, the Third Circuit Court of appeals rejected her bid to “gain standing in the case, ‘affirming the District Court’s ruling that “if the highest elected official in the commonwealth chooses to abide by our decision, it defies credulity that we would permit a single citizen to stand in for him to perfect an appeal.’”

Let’s hope this latest motion gets knocked down, too, but something makes me nervous about getting more people in the mix.