A federal judge has struck down Pennsylvania State's ban on same-sex marriage on Tuesday, calling it unconstitutional – making it the latest state in which such bans have been stated illegal in the past years.
While striking down the prohibition, the US District Judge John E. Jones cited the constitutional guidelines of due process and equal protection.
The decision was made on the Whitewood Vs Wolf case – the suit filed last year on behalf of several same-sex couples. The ruling essentially strikes down Pennsylvania's Defense of Marriage Act.
"In future generations, the label same-sex marriage will be abandoned, to be replaced simply by marriage," Jones wrote in his ruling according to CNN. "We are a better people than what these laws represent, and it is time to discard them into the ash heap of history."
This comes after same-sex couples in Oregon began getting married on Monday after a similar federal court ruling, which lifted the ban on gay marriages.
Jones issued an order on Tuesday permanently barring all authorities in the state from preventing same-sex marriages to take place, or to avail marriage licenses. That means people wanting to get married could get the license right away, even if they choose to get married in sometime. Pennsylvania has a waiting period of three days between applying for and getting the licenses.
Jones, in his rulings added, "By virtue of this ruling, same-sex couples who seek to marry in Pennsylvania may do so, and already married same-sex couples will be recognized as such in the Commonwealth."
It has to be noted, however, that Jones' ruling can still be appealed.
In a tweet, Governor Tom Corbett said that he is "in the process of thoroughly reviewing the decision of the court, we anticipate having a statement available tomorrow."
LGBT advocates have praised Tuesday's ruling. "We are overjoyed that we will finally be able to get married in our home state in front of our family and friends" CNN quoted Christine Donato, who was among 11 couples who sued in July to overturn the 1996 Pennsylvania law restricting marriages to 'one man and one woman'.
