But Judge Lawrence J. O’Toole, of the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County, ruled against the couple. He noted that the primary purpose of the adoption was to reduce the Pennsylvania inheritance tax payable upon the death of one of the men from 15% to 4%, “as the two men would now be in a parent-child relationship instead of a third party relationship.”

O’Toole said he was “sensitive to the situation” but noted that despite the fact Esposito and Bosee desire to marry, “they cannot do so because they are legally father and son.”

“This Court welcomes direction from our appellate courts in handling parallel cases,” O’Toole wrote.

“We don’t believe the Pennsylvania judge who refused to annul this adoption was unsympathetic,” said Witold Walczak, the Legal Director of the ACLU Pennsylvania, “he simply felt that the legal path to doing so should be forged by an appellate court.”

“The ACLU is hopeful that the Superior Court will apply established legal principles to allow annulment of adoptions by same-sex couples who that they can finally partake of their constitutional right to marry,” Walczak said.

Source: CNN