Bucks County will issue same-sex marriage licenses starting at 8 a.m. Wednesday.
Credit: Tom Sofield/LevittownNow.com
The news from Register of Wills Don Petrille came hours after Federal Judge John Jones III struck down Pennsylvania’s ban on same-sex marriage Tuesday afternoon.
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“Judge Jones’s order clearly mandates this office to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. It is our plan to start issuing licenses when we reopen for business at 8AM on Wednesday, May 21, 2014. If a stay is issued because a party appeals, we will honor the stay of proceedings. As of now, we have no indication there will be an appeal or a stay, and are making plans to accommodate applications we receive tomorrow,” Petrille said in a statement emailed to LevittownNow.com.
Jones’ ruling came after similar ones striking down same-sex marriage bans in 9 states.
“We are a better people than what these laws represent,” Jones wrote of same-sex marriage bans in his ruling. “In future generations the label same-sex marriage will be abandoned, to be replaced simply by marriage.”
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Petrille said his office expects heavy volume in the next few days and asked for the “public’s patience as we serve all couples seeking marriage licenses.”
“We will carry out our duties under the Pennsylvania Constitution, the County Code and Pennsylvania law as they are currently understood,” Petrille said.
