Lambda Legal Files Supreme Court Briefs in Prop 8 and DOMA Cases

We want to keep you up to date during these exciting days, as we approach the arguments in the Supreme Court challenges to the so-called Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and California’s Proposition 8.

In the last 48 hours, Lambda Legal and our colleagues at Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) together have filed two powerful friend-of-the-court briefs.

In our argument against Prop 8, our Legal Director, Jon Davidson, wrote:

Proposition 8 required the state to provide lesbians and gay men less protection against inequality than anyone else, which literally violates the mandate of the federal Equal Protection Clause.

Summarizing our argument against DOMA, Director of Constitutional Litigation Susan Sommer said:

DOMA is a recipe for discrimination: It targets a particularly disliked group, burdens important personal interests, and represents a one-time departure from the usual process of allocating federal rights and benefits. It’s a blatant violation of equal protection.

And we have had plenty of impressive company arguing on our side: Using the authority of his office to support equality, President Obama filed supportive briefs in each of the two challenges. A broad array of nearly 300 businesses and employers filed a brief arguing that DOMA should be struck down; over 100 prominent Republicans filed a brief urging that Prop 8 be struck down; and dozens more friend-of-the-court briefs were filed at the Court representing people and institutions from every sector of our society.

Our experienced attorneys have been working night and day to craft these briefs, assist others in strengthening arguments and coordinating support—and also continuing the fight for marriage equality in Illinois, New Jersey and Nevada. We will continue to keep you posted. Thank you for your continued support.