PENNSYLVANIA House postpones action on gay-marriage measure

The proposal would bar Pennsylvania from recognizing same-sex unions.
HARRISBURG (AP) -- The state House of Representatives began to wade into the national debate over gay marriage, considering a measure that supporters say would bolster a state law defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman.
But after a little more than an hour of floor debate Wednesday, the House postponed action and voted 96-94 to table the proposal until Nov. 8, nearly a week after the Nov. 2 general election.
Rep. Jerry Birmelin, a conservative Republican from Wayne County, sponsored the measure, which would prohibit gay couples from obtaining marriage licenses and bar Pennsylvania from recognizing same-sex marriages sanctioned by other states.
It would also prohibit the state from recognizing "spousal equivalent relationships" among unmarried couples who live together, regardless of their sexual orientation.
Birmelin said it was important for lawmakers to make a public statement reinforcing the state's Defense of Marriage Act, passed in 1996, in response to actions such as a Massachusetts Supreme Court ruling in November that enabled the state to become the first to allow same-sex unions.
"State government is not only about dollars and cents ... it's also about who we are as a people, what our values are," Birmelin said.
Democrats' perspectives
Republicans and Democrats alike weighed in on both sides of the issue. Among Birmelin's Democratic allies was Rep. Tom Yewcic of Cambria County.
"Civil rights was always based on national origin and skin color," Yewcic said. "I reject the notion that civil rights should be extended to what someone does behind their bedroom door."
Opponents argued that the measure was discriminatory, and that the Legislature had more pressing business, such as trying to meet a June 30 state budget deadline.
"I'm married, and I have two children, so statistically I'm right there in the norm," said Rep. Daylin Leach, D-Montgomery. "But there are gay couples with children; there are single people with children. ... There are all kinds of families, and every one of them is a legitimate family."
Rep. Steve Nickol, R-York, who voted for the Defense of Marriage Act in 1996, said he believes any revisions are unnecessary and potentially would infringe on the civil rights of all unmarried couples.
"If this amendment is entered into law, it will predictably lead to protracted and expensive litigation ... and the rights of many Pennsylvanians will be compromised in the process."
Rep. Harry Readshaw, D-Allegheny, made the motion to table the bill, saying that the issue should be aired in public hearings before lawmakers vote on it.
"If such hearings are held throughout the summer, I think everybody can get a better handle on this thing," said Readshaw, who opposes the amendment.
Birmelin sought to attach his amendment to an adoption-records bill that would eliminate a requirement for adult adoptees to obtain criminal background checks when they seek a court's permission to change their names.
After the voting session ended, he said he would not be deterred from reviving the debate sooner by incorporating it into another bill.
"I'm going to keep trying until we get a final vote. If I lose the vote on the amendment, so be it -- I'll just close up shop and move on," he said. "I'm convinced a majority of the members are going to vote for it. They just didn't want to deal with it today."
Pennsylvania is among 38 states with laws defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman. Four others -- Alaska, Hawaii, Nebraska and Nevada -- have similar language in their state constitutions.
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