A federal judge who overturned Pennsylvania's law barring the recognition of same-sex marriage is rejecting a bid by a county official from eastern Pennsylvania to appeal it.
U.S. District Judge John E. Jones III issued his decision Wednesday on the request by Schuylkill County Orphans Court Clerk Theresa Santai-Gaffney. Her lawyers promptly said they would appeal his decision to the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia.
Gov. Tom Corbett's administration was defending the law, but declined to appeal Jones' May 20 decision to strike down the 1996 law. Santai-Gaffney had also asked Jones to put that ruling on hold until an appeals court could review it.
Pennsylvania was the last northeastern state to bar gay marriage. Same-sex marriage is now legal in the state of nearly 13 million.
