By Wayne Laepple
While hundreds of Californians are flocking to county courthouses to get married in the wake of a state Supreme Court decision allowing same-sex marriage, gay Pennsylvania couples should only head for the Golden State to marry if they plan to remain there.
According to state Rep. Russell Fairchild, R-85 of Lewisburg, there are two barriers to gays who marry in California and then return to set up housekeeping in Pennsylvania.
In 1996, President Bill Clinton signed into law a bill that left to the states the question of whether they would recognize same-sex marriages.
"Pennsylvania passed a similar act at about the same time," said Fairchild. "Section 1704 of the Domestic Relations Code defines marriage only between a man and a woman."
A spokeswoman at the state Department of Revenue said marriage is defined in Pennsylvania law as between a man and a woman. She said the state attorney general has made no statement on the issue.
