Talk:Self-uniting marriage
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[edit] PA status
Does anyone know how the recent changes to the marriage laws in PA have affected this category of marriage? It's my understanding that PA has either removed this category, or significantly reduced it's availability but I'm not certain about that. --Ahc (talk) 04:31, 21 November 2007 (UTC)
- Self-uniting marriage licenses for members of religious faiths without clergy (Quakers, etc.) in PA is ongoing and not in dispute, but their issuance for secular applicants is embroiled in controversy. The solicitor for the statewide Association of Registers of Wills and Clerks of Orphans Court (the professional organization for those who issue marriage licenses in PA) has advised member registers/clerks that the state's abolition of common law marriage in 2005 also affects self-uniting marriage. This is a very controversial position, however, and appears motivated by fears of same-sex marriage. The solicitor, David Cleaver, been quoted as saying:
But the judge in the September 2007 federal lawsuit against PA's Allegheny County in her order (.pdf) that PA "permits as a matter of statute the issuance of self-uniting marriage licenses" regardless whether whether the marriage is religious or secular. This area is obviously in flux right now (the licenses appear to be issued without restriction currently in at least Philadelphia, Montgomery, Chester, and Allegheny counties; they appear to be issued only to certain religions in at least Bucks County). For more info on the state of PA marriage laws, see Pa. marriage law in 'upheaval,' questioned in suits, disputes. --anon. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.240.13.143 (talk) 16:05, 25 November 2007 (UTC)"You can self-unite two men or two women, that's where they're going," Cleaver said. "They're going two places: They're looking to legitimize gay marriage and they're looking to re-legitimize common law marriage."
