Brubaker seeks ban on gay marriage in PA

LancasterOnline.com:News:Brubaker seeks ban on gay marriage

State Sen. Michael Brubaker is poised to introduce legislation that would write a ban on gay marriage into the state Constitution, the Intelligencer Journal has learned.
According to various sources, the Warwick Township Republican is shopping for co-sponsors to attach their names to the legislation, which would have to go through a lengthy process and likely a bitter political fight in order to become law.
"He's a very accomplished person, and we think he can do well in a leadership position on this," said Michael Geer, a Lancaster County resident and president of the Pennsylvania Family Coalition.
Brubaker did not return several messages seeking comment.
Brubaker apparently is not alone in his efforts. A GOP source told the Intelligencer Journal Thursday night that a Democrat, state Rep. Richard T. Grucela of Northampton County, will introduce identical legislation in the state House.
"With Republicans in the minority, there's no way that (Democratic) leadership over there is going to look at a Republican bill," said the source, who wished to remain anonymous, talking about internal legislative strategy.
With Democrats holding a one-vote majority in the state House, Republicans reached out to Grucela, a Democrat who supported the gay marriage ban when the same political fight erupted two years ago.
According to www.pa4marriage.org, the Web site for the Coalition to Protect Marriage in Pennsylvania, Brubaker is asking other legislators for their support.

"The goal is simple," the Web site reads, "Protect the definition of marriage as the union between one man and one woman and prevent creation of civil unions (or other terms used to give all the legal benefits of marriage under a different name).
"Your help is needed now! You can help Sen. Brubaker get other senators to sign on as co-sponsors."
Information also can be found on the election Web site of state Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi, a Delaware County Republican (www.pileggi08.com) as well as several gay or conservative Web sites.
Pennsylvania already has a statute narrowly defining marriage as a man-woman union, but many conservatives fear that the law is vulnerable to a court challenge unless it is written into the state Constitution.
Geer said man-woman marriage deserves such protection because a mother-father relationship is healthier for children than same-sex marriages.
"Recognition of other relationships such as same-sex marriage don't have equivalent benefits to society, and therefore don't deserve the same level of recognition," Geer said.
"This ultimately is about democracy and whether citizens can decide what marriage will be in the future, instead of judges."
Writing new language into the state Constitution is a long, grueling process that can take several years to complete.
The House and the Senate must approve identical language in consecutive two-year legislative sessions. The proposed amendment is then put to a voter referendum.
In 2006, state Rep. Scott Boyd, a West Lampeter Republican, was the chief sponsor of a House bill that said:
"Only a marriage between one man and one woman shall be valid or recognized as a marriage in this Commonwealth, and neither the Commonwealth nor any of its political subdivisions shall create or recognize a legal status identical or substantially equivalent to that of marriage for unmarried individuals."
The bill passed the House on June 6, 2006, but once it reached the Senate, its days were numbered. Senate Republicans took issue with some of the language, saying the it ambiguously addressed the issue of civil unions, making it unlikely to pass in a voter referendum.
E-mail: dpidgeon@lnpnews.com