By: Rachel L. MSW, LMSW
President Obama Weighs In On Prop 8 Case
The Obama administration has filed an amicus curiae (friend of the court) brief asking the Supreme Court of the United States to strike down Prop 8 when it rules on Hollingswoth v. Perry. More surprising 100 prominent Republicans have attached their names to a separate amicus curiae brief in support of the court overturning the law which bans same-sex marriage in the state of California. You can read the brief below.
Hollingsworth v. Perry was a suit brought by Kristen Perry who was denied a marriage license by the state of California because her and her partner, Sandra Stier, where a same-sex couple. In August 2010 a District Court Judge ruled in favor of Perry, finding that Prop 8 violated the due process and equal protection clauses of the fourteenth amendment of the United States Constitution.
The case was appealed to the ninth circuit which in 2012 upheld the lower court’s ruling. Supporters of Prop 8 wanted a en banc review of the ninth district court. The Plaintiffs requested that the case be brought to the US Supreme Count.
SCOTUS will also be hearing a case involving the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which defines marriage as being between one man and one woman.
Because of DOMA same-sex couples who are legally married continue to face discrimination at the federal level.
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