diff --git a/includes/theme.inc b/includes/theme.inc
index ee73965d963ef6baa8619afe7cacdaddf325af5f..ebe5817b2e0549c3d9c8717b7df56466c98cae77 100644
--- a/includes/theme.inc
+++ b/includes/theme.inc
@@ -1690,8 +1690,6 @@ function theme_links($variables) {
   $output = '';
 
   if (count($links) > 0) {
-    $output = '';
-
     // Treat the heading first if it is present to prepend it to the
     // list of links.
     if (!empty($heading)) {