Academic

Update on Pennsylvania ?Marriage? Amendment

By Bridget Crawford

As the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette is reporting today, the so-called marriage amendment to the Pennsylvania constitution (blogged earlier here and here) was voted out of the Pennsylvania Senate?s Appropriations Committee yesterday. Demonstrating that discrimination always comes at a price, this measure had to go through the Appropriations Committee because the cost of advertising this measure in newspapers around the state before the next election (which is a required part of the amendment process set forth in the state constitution) could be as much as $1 million. Yes, that?s right. It could cost $1 million to enshrine discrimination against same-sex couples in the state constitution. Is there really nothing better that our state legislators can think to do with a million taxpayer dollars?

The bill containing the amendment could be voted on by the full Senate as early as today. I would urge all of our Pennsylvania readers to get on the phone to their senators today to voice their opposition to this measure. Equality Advocates has some great resources on its web site for those interested in voicing their opposition to this measure, including a legislator locator and talking points. Kudos go to Equality Advocates (and especially to its Executive Director, Stacey Sobel) and to the Women?s Law Project (and especially to Senior Staff Attorney Sue Frietsche) who have been doing an amazing job in organizing the opposition to the proposed constitutional amendment

-Anthony C. Infanti

Full post as published by Feminist Law Professors on May 06, 2008 (boomark / email).