Pennsylvania responds to same sex marriage lawsuits

HARRISBURG, Pa., Oct. 8 (UPI) -- Attorneys for Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett responded to a lawsuit from a lesbian couple, saying men and women are treated the same under state marriage laws.

That is, provided the women wanted to marry men.

Nicola and Tamara Cucinotta filed the suit Sept. 6, arguing the only impediment to their marriage is that they are both women, the Philadelphia Inquirer said Tuesday.

Commonwealth lawyers responded, arguing men and women are treated the same under the state's marriage laws. The filing doesn't address the fact that the women aren't suing based on their gender but their sexual orientation -- except to note Pennsylvania law defines marriage as only between a man and a woman.

State lawyers said in their four-page lawsuit filed against the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the Cucinottas failed to "demonstrate that the Marriage Law in any way denies them the inherent right of pursuing their own happiness."

"The Marriage Law treats men and women equally, allowing both a man and a woman to enter into the contract of marriage with someone of the opposite sex," wrote William Lamb, a lawyer hired by the Corbett administration to handle the spate of same-sex marriage lawsuits.