NORRISTOWN — Lawyers asked a state court on Friday to throw out a lawsuit that seeks to stop a defiant county official from issuing marriage licenses to gay couples, who cannot legally wed in Pennsylvania.

County attorneys for D. Bruce Hanes said the Montgomery County clerk has a sworn duty to uphold the Pennsylvania and U.S. constitutions — and Pennsylvania’s law banning same-sex marriage violates both, they argued.

The state “cannot possess a clear legal right to force (Hanes) to abandon his oath,” the lawyers wrote.

The documents are in response to a lawsuit filed earlier this week by the state Health Department that seeks a court order to stop Hanes from granting licenses to gay and lesbian couples. County officials said Hanes has issued same-sex couples at least 43 marriage licenses since July 24 and at least 12 of those have been completed and returned.

Hanes began granting the licenses not long after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down part of the Defense of Marriage Act, also known as DOMA. At the time, he said he wanted to “come down on the right side of history and the law.”

Montgomery County Solicitor Raymond McGarry said at a news conference Friday that the county’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit also argues that Commonwealth Court, where the suit was filed, lacks judicial authority in the case and that the Health Department has no legal say, or standing, in the matter.

Meanwhile, an official in Centre County said she will perform weddings for same-sex couples who obtain a license from Hanes’ office. State College Mayor Elizabeth Goreham said although she doesn’t have the power to issue marriage licenses, she can wed couples who already have one.