Task Force applauds Obama administration Supreme Court brief calling for end to California’s Proposition 8

The Obama administration today filed an amicus brief urging the Supreme Court to rule that voters in California were not entitled to ban marriage for same-sex couples, which they did when they approved Proposition 8 in 2008. The high court will hear the California case, Hollingsworth v. Perry, in late March and its decision is expected in June.

Last week, the administration filed a brief in the case of United States v. Windsor, urging the Supreme Court to strike down the discriminatory, federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which will also be heard next month. The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force signed amicus briefs arguing for heightened scrutiny in both the Proposition 8 and DOMA cases.

Statement by Rea Carey, Executive Director, National Gay and Lesbian Task Force:

President Obama made history when he became the first sitting president to explicitly support the freedom to marry for same-sex couples. With these amicus briefs, he has backed his powerful words with concrete action. The nation’s high court will consider one of the most defining civil rights issues of our time when it hears the Prop. 8 and DOMA cases. It makes perfect sense that our country’s highest leader should weigh in and urge the court to affirm our Constitution’s promises of liberty, equality and human dignity. In doing so, the Obama administration is standing for all families and for fundamental American values.