Pa. County Defies Law, Issues Same-Sex Marriage Licenses

State asks court to make it stop

State officials asked a court to stop a rogue county from issuing marriage licenses to gay couples on Tuesday, nearly a week after a clerk began granting them in violation of Pennsylvania law.

The petition filed by the Health Department in Commonwealth Court alleges that D. Bruce Hanes, the register of wills in Montgomery County, "repeatedly and continuously" flouted the law. As of Tuesday afternoon, the county had granted 34 licenses and registered six same-sex marriages.