UPDATE: Here’s video of the ‘altercation’ that caused the AP to write this article:
And here’s a subsequent statement issued by Corbett following this smear:
Governor Tom Corbett today issued the following statement in response to the airing of a news segment on same-sex marriage.
“During a recent interview, I was asked to comment on the ruling by Judge Pellegrini that the Montgomery County Clerk of Courts did not have the power to decide the constitutionality of state laws.
“My words were not intended to offend anyone. If they did, I apologize.
“I explained that current Pennsylvania statute delineates categories of individuals unable to obtain a marriage license. As an example, I cited siblings as one such category, which is clearly defined in state law. My intent was to provide an example of these categories.
“The constitutional question is now before a federal court and that is the venue in which same-sex couples wishing to legally marry have standing to intervene and be heard. Same-sex marriage is an important issue and the question of its legal status is one that will be heard and decided upon its merits, with respect and compassion shown to all sides.”
Regardless of the above statement and video, I still stand by this article. The AP knew the context was the legal status of gay marriage licenses and still put that he was comparing gay marriage to incest. Again, that is wreckless journalism and it needs to be called out.
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The Associated Press is smearing Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett by pushing out an article entitled: Corbett: Gay Marriage Is Like Marriage Of Siblings. The first two paragraphs go like this:
HARRISBURG, Pa. – Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett has compared the marriage of same-sex couples to the marriage of a brother and sister during an appearance on a morning TV news show.
The Republican made the remark Friday on WHP-TV in Harrisburg when asked about a statement his lawyers made in an August court filing.
But that’s not true at all. If you continue reading you’ll find that he was talking about the legitimacy of gay marriage licenses in the state of Pennsylvania and NOT the actual relationship of two people of the same sex:
The attorneys had said gay marriage licenses have no “value or legitimacy” in Pennsylvania and can’t be defended in court. They compared gay couples to children, who can’t marry because a 1996 law says marriage is between a man and a woman.
Corbett has called that statement inappropriate. On Friday, he said he thinks “a much better analogy would have been brother and sister, don’t you?”
Pennsylvania bans gay marriage, though one county has been issuing same-sex marriage licenses.
All he’s saying is that gay marriage licenses in Pennsylvania have NO LEGITIMACY. The reason that this is a topic at all is that one county in Pennsylvania is issuing same-sex marriage licenses despite the fact that gay marriage is banned in the state. He’s not comparing gay marriage to incest by any stretch of the imagination, but that didn’t stop the Huffington Post from making sure ‘incest’ was in the title of their AP article:
Tom Corbett, Pennsylvania GOP Governor, Compares Gay Marriage To Incest
Thanks to reckless journalism of AP author MARK SCOLFORO, this article will go out all over the nation with both a title and the first 2 paragraphs that are complete smear. And unfortunately that’s all that many will read.