From ACLU
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments today in cases that challenge laws in Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and Tennessee barring same-sex couples from marrying and recognition of marriages of same-sex couples performed out of state. Today's hearing sets the stage for final resolution of the debate about marriage equality for lesbian and gay couples nationwide.
The American Civil Liberties Union represents plaintiffs in Kentucky cases Bourke v. Beshear and Love v. Beshear, and in Ohio case Obergefell, et al. v. Hodges. Petitioners in these cases argue that state marriage bans violate the due process and equal protection provisions of the U.S. Constitution.
"The families in these cases range from couples who have been together since the early 1990s and have raised children together, to surviving spouses who seek the dignity of being named on death certificates. Their stories and others across America are the reason public opinion has changed so rapidly on marriage," said James Esseks, director of the ACLU's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and HIV Project. "The Supreme Court, like more than 50 courts that have ruled in favor of marriage equality since DOMA was struck down in 2013, should recognize that the time has come to make full marriage equality the law of the land."
In January 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court granted review of an aberrant Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that upheld discriminatory marriage bans in the four states — the first court to do so after the Supreme Court's watershed 2013 Windsor decision.
"When my late husband John and I received the devastating diagnosis in 2011 that John had ALS, we knew that like Edie and Thea, our fight would continue after John died," said Jim Obergefell, plaintiff in Obergefell, et al. v. Hodges. "Every family deserves the peace of mind of knowing that they will be able to take care of each other in good times and bad, until death parts them. I continue to fight for John's last wish to have our marriage respected."
Plaintiffs across these cases seek the dignity and protections that come only with marriage. "In every sense we are a family except Kentucky recognizing our marriage and thus the parentage of our two children," said Michael DeLeon, plaintiff in Bourke v. Beshear.
Mary Bonauto of Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders and Doug Hallward-Driemeier of Ropes & Gray LLP made the argument before the court today for the rights of same-sex couples. A decision is expected in June 2015.
More information about the Kentucky cases is available at:
www.aclu.org/lgbt-rights/bourke-v-beshear-love-v-beshear-freedom-marry-kentucky .
More information about the Ohio case is available at:
www.aclu.org/cases/obergefell-et-al-v-himes-freedom-marry-ohio .
From Lambda Legal
"Today was an awe-inspiring and singular moment in the march towards justice for same-sex couples and their families as powerful arguments for fairness, equality and love echoed in the chamber of our nation's highest court."
(Washington, April 28, 2015) — The U.S. Supreme Court today heard oral arguments in the six cases out of the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals collectively known as Obergefell v. Hodges, challenging discriminatory state bans on marriage for same-sex couples. Two of the cases, out of Ohio, are being litigated by Lambda Legal, the ACLU and the Ohio-based firm of Gerhardstein & Branch. Lambda Legal Executive Director Kevin Cathcart and Al Gerhardstein of Gerhardstein & Branch attended the oral arguments and issued the following statements:
Kevin Cathcart:
"Today was an awe-inspiring and singular moment in the march towards justice for same-sex couples and their families as powerful arguments for fairness, equality and love echoed in the chamber of our nation's highest court.
"Congratulations to Mary Bonauto and our colleagues at Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders and to Doug Hallward-Driemeier of Ropes & Gray. Mary and Doug argued eloquently and persuasively and made it clear that these marriage bans serve no purpose save to stigmatize same-sex couples, their relationships and their children. Congratulations also to all the plaintiff families who stood up for all of us.
"If we win, it will be historic, and it will bring protections to same-sex couples and their children across the land. But it would not be the end. The freedom to marry would open many doors, but it does not eliminate discrimination and violence against LGBT people and people living with HIV. And our well-funded opponents would not stop trying to roll back our advances, as we recently witnessed in Indiana and other states. No matter what the Court rules, we will keep working to secure and protect our freedoms.
"It was especially gratifying for Lambda Legal to be working closely on these cases with our sister organizations — the ACLU, NCLR and GLAD — with whom we have been fighting for equality for many years, and with private counsel who have joined us - often pro bono - in this battle. For marriage equality, we have joined together to make what we hope are the closing arguments."
Alphonse Gerhardstein:
"Three babies have been born to our clients since we filed our cases. They deserve to grow up in families that enjoy full equality. It was incredibly moving to gather in the Supreme Court chamber with their parents and all 30 plaintiffs in these historic cases. Mary and Doug were fantastic, making a compelling and to my mind irrefutable case on their behalf. No state should be permitted to pass laws that purposefully make gay families unequal to others. Hopefully in a few short weeks the Supreme Court will issue a ruling that ensures the dignity of these babies and of all LGBTQ families across America."
The six cases on review before the Court today included: two Ohio cases, Obergefell v. Hodges, where the ACLU joined with Gerhardstein & Branch, andHenry v. Hodges, where Lambda Legal joined Gerhardstein & Branch; DeBoer v. Snyder, a Michigan case litigated by private counsel and Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD); Bourke v. Beshear and Love v. Beshear, two Kentucky cases litigated by private counsel and the ACLU; and Tanco v. Haslam, a Tennessee case litigated by the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) and private counsel.
Lambda Legal, the ACLU, NCLR and GLAD, along with other civil and LGBT rights organizations and often joined by pro bono private counsel, have been fighting for the freedom to marry for same-sex couples for decades. Lambda Legal first fought for marriage equality in Hawaii almost 20 years ago, won a unanimous decision for marriage from the Iowa Supreme Court in 2009, and has successful litigated many other marriage lawsuits, including in New Jersey, Illinois, Nevada, Arizona, Virginia, West Virginia, South Carolina and Indiana.
