HARRISBURG, March 19, 2010 – Sen. Daylin Leach (D-Delaware/Montgomery), prime sponsor of Senate Bill 935, today announced a debate with Maggie Gallagher from the National Organization for Marriage, an organization that believes that traditional marriage will suffer if same sex couples are permitted to marry. Leach gained international attention when he introduced S.B. 935, which would offer full marriage rights to same-sex couples in Pennsylvania.
This debate comes on the heels of the Senate Judiciary Committee’s historic defeat of Senate Bill 707, a bill that would have amended the state Constitution to define marriage as a union between one man and one woman only. Leach, who led the fight against the bill, noted that it was struck down by a bipartisan vote of 8-6. Leach said that though this was a victory for marriage equality advocates, there’s still work left to do.
“I am most eager to debate Maggie Gallagher next week and once again bring this important issue into a public forum,” Leach said. “This is something that both sides are passionate about and will probably never agree on, but a debate will allow members of the public to hear each side of the argument and form their own conclusions.”
The debate will be held Wednesday, March 24 at 7 p.m. at Harrisburg Area Community College’s Cooper Student Center and will be telecast live on PCN. The station will also broadcast an analysis and discussion of the debate after its conclusion. Scott Detrow, Capitol Reporter for WTFI will serve as the moderator during the debate and Trum Simmons, Sr. Professor of English will moderate the Q & A session following the debate.
| WHAT: |
Marriage Equality debate against Maggie Gallagher |
| WHEN: | Monday, March 24, 2010 7 p.m. |
| WHERE: | HACC Cooper Student Center 1 HACC Drive Harrisburg, PA 17110 |
Media attendance is encouraged.
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