Washington, DC – On news this afternoon that the U.S. Supreme Court has decided to grant certiorari in cases brought by same-sex couples challenging the constitutionality of state laws that deny them their right to marry, the progressive Constitutional Accountability Center – which has filed briefs joined by the conservative/libertarian Cato Institute defending marriage equality in courts across the country – issued the following reaction:

CAC Vice President Judith E. Schaeffer said, “On the long road toward full equality under the law that gay men and lesbians have had to travel,  the Court’s announcement today is a key milestone. This is the tenth Term in which John Roberts has served as Chief Justice, and today’s grant ensures it will be one of the most momentous of his tenure, however long he may serve, and however he may vote.

“While marriage equality is now a reality in 36 states,” Schaeffer continued, “the Fourteenth Amendment prohibits all 50 states from depriving gay men and lesbians of the fundamental right to marry.  I am confident that the Court will get the Constitution ‘right’ when it decides these new cases, and that same-sex couples will no longer have to live in a balkanized America.  The Nation will soon see if Chief Justice Roberts is on the right side of the Constitution, not to mention the right side of history, when the Court hands down its decision.”   

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Resources:

Brief of CAC and Cato in one of the Sixth Circuit cases granted hearing by the U.S. Supreme Court today, Bourke v. Beshear: http://theusconstitution.org/cases/bourke-v-beshear

“Faulty Federalism: Constitutional Misconceptions in the Newly Emerging Arguments Against Marriage Equality,” CAC Civil Rights Director David Gans, CAC Issue Brief: http://theusconstitution.org/sites/default/files/briefs/Issue_Brief-Faulty_Federalism.pdf 

“Four misconceptions about the U.S. Constitution and same-sex marriage,” CAC Vice President Judith E. Schaeffer, USA Today, August 14, 2014: http://www.usatoday.com/story/Opinion%20%5bOPINION%5d/Commentary%20%5bOPINION05%5d/2014/08/13/four-misconceptions-about-the-us-constitution-and-same-sex-marriage/14004955/ 

“Despite top court, marriage inequality remains,” CAC Vice President Judith E. Schaeffer, USA Today, October 7, 2014: http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2014/10/07/same-sex-marriage-supreme-court-circuit-courts-column/16830919/ 

“Libertarians’ Relationship With Same-Sex Marriage Gets Serious,” Chris Geidner, BuzzFeed, October 24, 2014: http://www.buzzfeed.com/chrisgeidner/libertarians-relationship-with-same-sex-marriage-gets-seriou 

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Constitutional Accountability Center (www.theusconstitution.org) is a think tank, public interest law firm, and action center dedicated to fulfilling the progressive promise of the Constitution’s text and history.

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