When Did you Stop Beating Your Wife?

In a vote last week, the Pennsylvania House voted to increase the marriage license fee from $3 to $28 – only the increase was to be used for “domestic violence” programs within the Department of Public Welfare. Essentially this turns marriage licenses from a user fee to a tax on marriage.

State Rep. Daryl Metcalfe spoke out against the marriage tax, as did the Pennsylvania Family Institute, which sent out an email on the issue.

Now the far left group Keystone Progress has attacked Rep. Metcalfe with a missive, saying he supports domestic violence, “Rep. Metcalfe clearly has a problem with preventing domestic violence in Pennsylvania.”

Basically, if you oppose a new tax on marriage, you must beat your wife. Furthermore, it remains unclear if the funding from this tax goes to programs which are effective at preventing domestic violence, or how exactly the funding would be used. Most likely, it goes to the advocacy organizations which make up Keystone Progress’s member – groups like ACORN.