Same-sex marriage ruling expected in Pennsylvania

HARRISBURG, Pa., May 20 (UPI) -- A federal judge in Pennsylvania will announce Tuesday his decision on whether the state's same-sex marriage ban is constitutional.

Plaintiffs argue that Pennsylvania's ban is unconstitutional because it prejudicially uses sexuality to determine if one has a right to be married.

If District Judge John Jones III overturns the state's 1996 ban, he will also have to decide whether to issue a stay on granting marriage licenses, meaning same-sex marriages would have to wait until after the state appealed the decision.

If the ban is ruled unconstitutional and no stay issued, same-sex marriages in Pennsylvania won't begin until Friday, as the Keystone State has an enforced 72-hour waiting period between when a couple applies for their license and is able to be wed.

The ACLU will hold community events around the state regardless of the decision when it is announced. Pennsylvania is the only state in the northeast that does not allow same-sex couples to wed.

The ruling in Pennsylvania comes as a federal judge in Oregon overturned that state's same-sex marriage ban on Monday.