After a flood of complaints, the Register of Wills' office in Centre County is issuing gay marriage licenses.
This Tuesday, a Philadelphia district judge struck down Pennsylvania's ban on gay marriage. Shortly after the ruling was announced, the Centre County Register of Wills office declared that it would not issue licenses, expecting to await the results of an appeal by the Governor's office. But they reversed their decision on Wednesday morning. Kim Barton, the Register of Wills, says it was caution, rather than a political statement, that caused the brief delay. "I was sworn in as an elected official to abide by the law," Barton said," and that's what I intend to do."
By early afternoon on Wednesday only two same-sex couples had applied for a license, but one couple were regulars at the office.
"On Valentines day, there were certain couples that would come in and ask, every year, if they could be married," Barton said. "One of the couples came in this morning and applied. They were the first couple to come in and apply."
Governor Corbett announced Wednesday that he will not appeal the decision, making Pennsylvania the 19th state to give same-sex couples the right to marry.
