Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane’s decision not to defend the state’s ban on same- sex marriage against a lawsuit by the ACLU leaves the ball in the governor’s court, Professor David S. Cohen said on CBS-3 on July 11.

"It’s now completely up to Governor Corbett and what he does,” Cohen said. “Presumably, he will defend it, his lawyers will defend the law, and the case will go forward as normal.”

On July 9, Cohen told The Morning Call that the U.S. Supreme Court’s rulings on same sex marriage opened the door to lawsuits like the one filed by the ACLU in Pennsylvania.  

A Harrisburg couple who are already legally married in Maine have filed suit in Harrisburg federal court on behalf of 10 same-sex couples arguing that it is unconstitutional not to recognize same-sex marriage in Pennsylvania. 

Cohen, who has commented extensively on the Supreme Court's decision to overturn the Defense of Marriage Act, said that the Supreme Court case has provided "huge support" to those, like the Harrisburg couple, fighting for same-sex marriage in their own state.  "The precedent has been there a long time to show that [legislating against] same-sex marriage is unconstitutional, and [the Supreme Court decision] just strengthens it," Cohen said.