Watch CBS News

Federal Trial on Pa. Same-Sex Marriage Law Set For June 2014

By Tony Romeo

HARRISBURG, Pa. (CBS) -- A federal judge in Harrisburg says a trial will be held in the middle of next year in a lawsuit seeking to overturn Pennsylvania's ban on same-sex marriage.

Judge John Jones III says the same-sex marriage case will go to trial in June in a federal courtroom serving the Middle District of Pennsylvania.   Jones denied a request by lawyers for the Corbett administration who had wanted the trial date pushed to August.

It was just a week ago that the same judge threw out motions to dismiss the case, saying in his opinion that the legal system's view of sex and sexual identity cases has undergone a "sea change" over the past four decades.

Pennsylvania's law limiting marriage to a man and a woman has now spawned a half-dozen legal challenges, including one resulting from the  Montgomery County register of wills' decision to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court is reviewing a lower court's ban on that practice.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.