Sens. Leach and Eichelberger to continue same sex marriage debate

            HARRISBURG, June 29 – Recently, Sen. Daylin Leach, D-Delaware/Montgomery, and his colleague, Sen. John Eichelberger, R-Blair, made headlines when they debated dueling marriage bills that could have a dramatic impact on the way Pennsylvania does business.

            One of those bills was Senate Bill 935, introduced by Leach, which would legalize same-sex marriage in Pennsylvania. S.B. 935 would allow our state to join ranks with our neighbors in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maine and New Hampshire by offering full and equal marriage rights to same-sex couples in Pennsylvania.

            While the bill would not require religious institutions to perform any marriage ceremonies or recognize any marriages that they do not wish to sanction, the legislation would dissolve all of the barriers to building families that gay and lesbian couples currently face.

           The second piece of legislation debated by the senators was introduced by Eichelberger earlier this session. The bill would add an amendment to the Pennsylvania Constitution that would more strictly define marriage and essentially ban same-sex marriage in the Commonwealth.

            Leach and Eichelberger feel that while their first debate shed light on the issue and helped bring same-sex marriages to the forefront of discussion in our community, the conversation needs to be continued. Tonight they will enter round two of the debate on Dom Giordano's show on 1210 AM The Big Talker. The show airs at 7:00 p.m.

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