Issuance of Same-Sex Marriage Licenses Resumes in Montgomery County
By Brad Segall
NORRISTOWN, Pa. (CBS) -- Montgomery County, Pa. is back in the business of issuing marriage licenses to gay couples.
Mindy Cohan and Lauren Rosenberg of nearby Lafayette Hill walked through the doors of the register of wills office -- where marriage licenses are issued -- shortly after 8:30 this morning.
It was the morning after the Pennsylvania Supreme Court advised the county it could resume issuing the licenses.
Register of wills D. Bruce Hanes is not sure how many couples will head to his office, but says they will stay open longer if need be.
"I don't know if you recall from last summer: we did not know if there were going to be lines around the building," he notes. "It turned out there were not."
Hanes was the first county clerk to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples last year, but stopped when those licenses sparked a state lawsuit and the courts ordered him to stop issuing the licenses (see related stories).
He said he doesn't like to use the word "vindication" but says he's very happy with the federal court decision to overturn Pennsylvania's ban on gay marriage.
