FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 21, 2013
PRESS CONTACTS:
Manny Rivera manny@afer.org
AFER Office 323.892.2081 or press@afer.org
Plaintiffs’
Brief: “To deny gay and lesbian Americans the fundamental freedom to marry would
… deny them their dignity as free persons.”
READ
PLAINTIFFS’ BRIEF HERE: www.afer.org/blog/read-afers-powerful-supreme-court-brief/
Washington, DC – Today, Plaintiffs challenging
California’s Proposition 8 filed their brief with the United States Supreme
Court in Hollingsworth v. Perry, urging the Justices to recognize the
fundamental right of all Americans to marry by affirming the landmark federal
court of appeals ruling that upheld the historic decision of the federal
district court that found Proposition 8 unconstitutional.
Enacted in November 2008, Proposition 8 eliminated the fundamental freedom
of gay and lesbian Californians to marry. On December 7, 2012, the Supreme
Court granted review in Perry to consider whether Proposition 8
violates the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses of the Fourteenth
Amendment to the United States Constitution. The Court will hear oral argument
in Perry on March 26, 2013.
“Because of their sexual orientation—a characteristic with which they were
born and which they cannot change—Plaintiffs and hundreds of thousands of gay
men and lesbians in California and across the country are being excluded from
one of life’s most precious relationships. They may not marry the person they
love, the person with whom they wish to partner in building a family and with
whom they wish to share their future and their most intimate and private
dreams,” Plaintiffs’ attorneys, led by distinguished co-counsel Theodore B.
Olson and David Boies, said in the brief. “Although opening to them
participation in the unique and immensely valuable institution of marriage will
not diminish the value or status of marriage for heterosexuals, withholding it
causes infinite and permanent stigma, pain, and isolation. It denies gay men
and lesbians their identity and their dignity; it labels their families as
second-rate. That outcome cannot be squared with the principle of equality and
the unalienable right to liberty and the pursuit of happiness that is the
bedrock promise of America from the Declaration of Independence to the
Fourteenth Amendment, and the dream of all Americans. This badge of
inferiority, separateness, and inequality must be extinguished. When it is,
America will be closer to fulfilling the aspirations of all its citizens.”
“This case is about marriage and equality. The Plaintiffs we represent are
two loving couples who, like millions of other gay and lesbian Americans, are
being denied the right to marry and the right to be treated with equal dignity
and respect under the law, principles that are deeply rooted in our
constitutional tradition,” said Plaintiffs’ counsel Theodore J. Boutrous, Jr.
“The brief that we have filed today demonstrates that Proposition 8 and laws
like it are irrational and discriminatory.”
The American Foundation for Equal Rights (AFER) is the sole sponsor of
Hollingsworth v. Perry, the federal constitutional challenge to
Proposition 8.
“This case is about the fundamental constitutional right of every American
to marry the person they love,” said AFER executive director Adam Umhoefer. “A
growing majority of people across the nation see that Proposition 8 and laws
like it are unfair, unlawful, and contrary to basic American values. It is time
for the Supreme Court to recognize our Constitution’s promise of marriage
equality for all. And when that day comes, we will be more American.”
The Perry case was filed on May 22, 2009, in Federal District
Court on behalf of two California couples, Kris Perry and Sandy Stier, and Paul
Katami and Jeff Zarrillo. On February 7, 2012, the United States Court of
Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued a landmark ruling upholding the historic
August 2010 decision of the Federal District Court that found Proposition 8
unconstitutional.
In addition to the Perry case, the Supreme Court has also granted
review in United States v. Windsor, a challenge to the
constitutionality of the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). Enacted by
Congress in 1996, DOMA nullifies the marriages of gay and lesbian couples for
all purposes of federal law. The Court will hear oral argument in
Windsor on March 27, 2013.
READ THE PLAINTIFFS’ BRIEF HERE: www.afer.org/blog/read-afers-powerful-supreme-court-brief/
READ THE PROPONENTS’ BRIEF HERE: www.afer.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/2013-01-22-Proponents-Brief.pdf
READ THE SUPREME COURT’S ORDER GRANTING CERTIORARI HERE:
www.afer.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/2012-12-07-Certiorari-Granted.pdf
READ THE NINTH CIRCUIT’S DECISION HERE: www.afer.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/2012-02-07-Decision-on-Merits.pdf
READ THE FEDERAL DISTRICT COURT’S DECISION HERE: www.afer.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/Prop8Decision.pdf
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About the American Foundation for Equal
Rights
The American Foundation for Equal Rights is
the sole sponsor of Hollingsworth v. Perry, the federal constitutional
challenge to California’s Proposition 8. After bringing together bipartisan
attorneys Theodore B. Olson and David Boies to lead its legal team, AFER
successfully advanced the Perry case through Federal District Court and
the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The case is currently before the United
States Supreme Court. The Foundation is committed to achieving full federal
marriage equality.
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