Plaintiffs in the federal challenge to Proposition 8, Hollingsworth v. Perry, filed the one and only brief that they will file with the Supreme Court prior to hearings in late March.
Read the full brief, AFTER THE JUMP…
Said Plaintiffs' attorneys, led by Ted Olson and David Boies, in the brief:
“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…
…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.”
Added Plaintiffs' counsel Theodore J. Boutrous, Jr. in a press release:
"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. The brief that we have filed today demonstrates that Proposition 8 and laws like it are irrational and discriminatory."
The Court will hear oral argument in Perry on March 26, 2013. They will hear arguments in the DOMA case, United States v. Windsor, on March 27.
Read the full brief, AFTER THE JUMP…
