HARRISBURG — State Rep. Daryl Metcalfe said he plans to introduce legislation to impeach state Attorney General Kathleen Kane.

In a memo circulated to each member of the state House of Representatives, Metcalfe said he plans on pursuing Kane’s impeachment because she “made a public declaration that she would not defend a federal lawsuit challenging the statutory definition of marriage.”

Metcalfe of Cranberry Township is upset with Kane’s refusal to defend the state in a federal lawsuit challenging Pennsylvania’s 1996 law that bans gay marriage.

Metcalfe, R-12th, added that Kane has created a “constitutional crisis by refusing to perform her assigned role and usurping the role of the courts.”

“It is our duty to stop her from engaging in further misbehavior in office,” Metcalfe said in the memo.

At issue are Kane’s opinion that the state’s gay marriage prohibition is not constitutional and her decision to delegate defense of that law to Republican Gov. Tom Corbett.

Kane made it clear that she won’t be intimidated by the lawmaker or his “loud, arrogant and misguided claims.”

“The citizens of this great Commonwealth should be revolted that a politician such as Rep. Metcalfe is attempting to thwart an independent attorney general from doing her job by using such a measure,” Kane said in a statement.

Furthermore, Kane claimed it is “unfortunate and embarrassing” that Metcalfe has “such limited knowledge of the laws” of Pennsylvania.

In an interview, Metcalfe said, “I think this lady thinks she can continue to run a campaign instead of acting like an attorney general.”