Pa. House Puts Brakes on Constitutional Marriage Ban

A proposed bill to constitutionally ban same-sex marriage in Pennsylvania was blocked and killed by the state's GOP-dominated House of Representatives.

Equality Pennsylvania thanked legislators for putting an end to HB 1434, which it called "mean-spirited and nonsensical."

"In 2012, this is not an issue," read a press release from EP. "It creates no jobs. It comes with hidden costs. It forcefully terminates existing domestic partnership benefits of thousands of municipal and state employees. It takes even the discussion of granting civil unions or domestic partnership benefits off the table. And as polls show, it is out of touch with the point of view of most Pennsylvanians."