Supreme Court should strike down Prop. 8 and DOMA!
Our Rea Carey at the Supreme Court today for the historic Supreme Court marriage equality arguments. Photo credit: Chadwick Cipiti
The Task Force has been organizing around one of the most historic civil rights events of our time — marriage equality at the Supreme Court! Justices are hearing arguments today and tomorrow in two landmark cases: one challenging the Prop. 8 marriage ban in California, and the other challenging the discriminatory, federal “Defense of Marriage Act” (DOMA). We’re part of the United for Marriage coalition, which has organized a slew of events related to this watershed moment. Get all the details here.
On this historic day, National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Executive Director Rea Carey said:
Today we stand on the steps of the Supreme Court and on the threshold of history, as the highest court in the land considers one of the most defining civil rights issues of our time.
Each step of this journey has been filled with hope and courage, with changing hearts and minds, with faith in America’s promise of full equality.
Same-sex couples simply want to be treated fairly, and to be able to provide for and protect our families, just as everyone else does. Yet Prop. 8 and DOMA make this impossible. Loving committed couples, who have been together for decades, who have stood by each other in sickness and in health, are being treated as strangers in the eyes of their own government. This is unconscionable, and as lower courts have deemed, unconstitutional.
All across the country, people are having personal and poignant conversations about who they are and who they love. We talk about why fairness matters, and of how discrimination hurts our families. The transformative nature of talking about our love and our lives is clear, as we see in the fact that a solid majority of Americans, from every background and walk of life, supports the freedom to marry.
America is ready to demonstrate once again its core values of fairness and freedom. The momentum for the freedom to marry is undeniable, but the journey is not finished. As long as Prop. 8 and DOMA remain intact, then true marriage equality remains out of reach. It is now time for the Supreme Court to stand for all families, to stand for fairness, and to stand on the right side of history. It is time for the Supreme Court to strike down Prop. 8 and DOMA, once and for all.
