equal rites

Pennsylvania Won’t Fight Gay Marriage

A reveller waves a rainbow flag during the Gay Pride Parade
Photo: RAUL ARBOLEDA/AFP/Getty Images

On Tuesday, a federal judge struck down Pennsylvania’s same-sex-marriage ban, allowing it to become the last state in the northeast to step into the future. Though such rulings are frequently met with an appeal on behalf of the state, Republican Governor Tom Corbett said that he’s not going to bother to try to stop some adults from marrying other adults. “The case is extremely unlikely to succeed on appeal,” he said in a statement. “Therefore, after review of the opinion and on the advice of my commonwealth legal team, I have decided not to appeal.” As a practicing Roman Catholic, Corbett has said that he personally opposes gay marriage, but on Wednesday he told a crowd in Pittsburgh that he wanted to keep his feelings about the issue “to myself.” Great!