Religious and Civil Rights Groups Support Same-Sex Couples in Legal Battle to Marry

NAACP, Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, California Council
of Churches, Asian Pacific American Legal Center, and National Black Justice
Coalition Are Among Groups Filing Briefs in Landmark California Court of
Appeal Case

SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 10 /PRNewswire/ -- In eight amicus briefs filed Monday
with the California Court of Appeal, more than more than 250 religious and
civil rights organizations urged the court to put an end to state laws that
deny same-sex couples the protections of marriage. The Court is hearing the
State's appeal of the March 2005 decision by San Francisco Superior Court
Judge Richard Kramer, which held that California's current statutory ban on
marriage of same-sex couples violates the California Constitution.
"I am proud to join with other civil rights leaders in standing up for
fairness and dignity for all," said Alice Huffman, President of the California
Conference of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
"Never before has such a diverse array of groups stepped forward to call for
an end to the unfair treatment faced by same-sex couples and their families
when they are denied the ability to marry." The group filed an amicus brief
asking the Court of Appeal to apply the holding in Perez v. Sharp, the 1948
California Supreme Court decision striking down laws banning interracial
marriage, to the current case. The NAACP's brief was authored by longtime
civil rights advocate Jon B. Eisenberg.
More than 200 local, regional, and national religious organizations and
clergy also filed a brief arguing that the constitutional principle of
religious freedom supports the right of same-sex couples to marry. Groups
joining the brief include the United Church of Christ, the Union for Reform
Judaism, the Unitarian Church, the California Council of Churches, California
Faith for Equality, the Ecumenical Catholic Church and the Buddhist group Soka
Gakkai International-USA. The brief was authored by a team of attorneys under
the leadership of Raoul D. Kennedy.
"There is great diversity among people of faith throughout California on
the issue of marriage for same-sex couples," said Rick Schossler, Executive
Director of the California Council of Churches and California Church IMPACT,
which represent 50 Protestant and Orthodox judicatories throughout California
with more than 1.5 million members. "It is a matter of religious freedom to
allow faith communities to practice their faith by performing and blessing
marriages between same-sex couples who wish to make a commitment to each
other, while allowing denominations that oppose such marriages to refrain from
so doing."
Twenty-one civil rights, community and legal groups joined a brief
criticizing laws that discriminate against gay people, including the law
limiting marriage to heterosexual couples. Karin Wang, Vice President for
Programs of the Asian Pacific American Legal Center of Southern California and
of-counsel on the brief, said, "APALC supports this case because people of
color in California are sadly familiar with marriage discrimination, as many
of our communities were targets of racially restrictive marriage rules in the
past. In addition, the civil rights of all communities are inseparably linked
so it is important for civil rights groups to stand together in support of
marriage equality."
The brief was authored by attorneys from O'Melveny & Myers, LLP. Other
groups who joined the brief include the Japanese American Bar Association, the
Japanese American Citizens League, People for the American Way, the Mexican
American Legal Defense & Educational Fund, the Lawyers Committee for Civil
Rights, and Equal Justice Society, among others.
More than 25 Asian Pacific Islander groups joined an additional brief
describing the long history of discrimination against API communities with
regard to marriage in California. The brief was authored by Victor Hwang, an
attorney with Asian Pacific Islander Legal Outreach. "As an Asian American
whose ancestors were denied equal rights and protections under California law,
I recognize the profound harm caused by denying lesbian and gay people the
ability to protect their families through marriage," said Hwang.
Women's organizations also filed an amicus brief in support of same-sex
couples, including the California Women's Law Center, Equal Rights Advocates,
Legal Momentum, and the Queen's Bench Bar Association of the San Francisco Bay
Area. Professor Herma Hill Kay, one of the leading family law scholars in the
nation, also joined this brief, which was authored by attorneys from Irell &
Manella LLP.
MassEquality, Children of Lesbians and Gays Everywhere, the National Gay &
Lesbian Task Force, and Freedom to Marry submitted a brief, authored by
attorneys from Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP. Another brief was submitted by
Bay Area Lawyers for Individual Freedom, Family Pride, the Human Rights
Campaign, the Lesbian and Gay Lawyers Association of Los Angeles, the National
Lesbian and Gay Law Association, Parents, Families & Friends of Lesbians and
Gays, SacLEGAL, and the Tom Homann Law Association in San Diego. The brief
was authored by attorneys from Munger, Tolles & Olson, LLP.
Law professors from across the United States and Canada also filed a brief
noting that a growing number of other countries now permit same-sex couples to
marry and explaining that marriage is a fundamental human right. The Women's
Institute for Leadership Development, an international human rights
organization based in California, also joined the brief.
The plaintiffs in the case are twelve same-sex couples, Equality
California, and Our Family Coalition, who are represented by lead counsel
National Center for Lesbian Rights, along with co-counsel Lambda Legal, the
ACLU, Heller Ehrman White & McAuliffe LLP, the Law Office of David C. Codell,
and Steefel, Levitt & Weiss. The City of San Francisco is also a plaintiff in
the case, represented by City Attorney Dennis Herrera and Deputy City Attorney
Therese Stewart, along with the law firm of Howard Rice Nemerovski Canady Falk
& Rabkin. The case likely will be set for oral argument in the spring.
For a complete list of organizations filing amicus briefs supporting the
right of same-sex couples to marry, please see the attached sheet.



List of Organizations and Individuals Filing Amicus Briefs
in Support of Marriage Equality

Brief Filed On Behalf Of The California NAACP, Authored By Jon Eisenberg

Brief Filed On Behalf Of Civil Rights Organizations, Authored By
O'Melveny & Myers LLP

* AGUILAS
* Asian American Justice Center
* Asian Pacific American Bar Association
* Asian Pacific American Legal Center of Southern California
* Asian and Pacific Islander Lesbian and Bisexual Women and Transgender
Network
* Asian Pacific Islander Pride Council
* Bienestar Human Services
* Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights
* Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund
* Equal Justice Society
* Japanese American Bar Association
* La Raza Centro Legal
* Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area
* Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund
* Multicultural Bar Alliance of Los Angeles
* National Black Justice Coalition
* National Lawyers Guild of San Francisco
* People for the American Way Foundation
* United Lesbians of African Heritage
* Ventura County Black Attorneys Association
* Zuna Institute

Brief Filed On Behalf Of Women's Rights Organizations, Authored By
Irell & Manella LLP

* California Women's Law Center
* Legal Momentum (formerly, the NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund)
* Professor Herma Hill Kay
* Equal Rights Advocates
* Legal Aid Society -- Employment Law Center
* Queen's Bench Bar Association of the San Francisco Bay Area

Brief Filed On Behalf Of Asian Pacific Islander Groups, Authored By
Victor Hwang Of Asian Pacific Islander Legal Outreach

* Asian Pacific Islander Legal Outreach
* Asian American Bar Association of the Greater Bay Area
* Asian American Justice Center
* Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund
* Asian Equality, Asian Law Alliance
* Asian Law Caucus
* Asian Pacific American Bar Association of Los Angeles County
* Asian Pacific American Legal Center of Southern California
* Asian and Pacific Islander Equality
* Asian Pacific Islander Family Pride
* Asian Pacific Islander Health Forum
* Asian and Pacific Islander Parents, Families & Friends of Lesbians and
Gays
* Asian Pacific Islander Wellness Center
* Asian Women's Shelter
* Asian Youth Promoting Advocacy and Leadership
* Chinese for Affirmative Action
* Chinese Progressive Association
* Filipinos for Affirmative Action
* Gay Asian Pacific Alliance
* Gay Asian Pacific Support Network
* Institute for Leadership Development and Study of Pacific Asian North
American Religion
* Japanese American Bar Association
* Japanese American Citizens League
* Korean Community Center of the East Bay
* My Sister's House
* Organization of Chinese Americans, San Francisco Chapter
* Southeast Asian Community Center
* Vietnamese American Bar Association of Northern California

Brief Filed On Behalf Of International Human Rights Organizations And Law
Professors, Authored By Professor Noah Novogrodsky of University of
Toronto School of Law

* University of Toronto, Faculty of Law, International Human Rights Clinic
* Women's Institute for Leadership Development
* Mayo Moran, Dean, University of Toronto, Faculty of Law, Ontario, Canada
* Brenda Cossman, University of Toronto, Faculty of Law, Ontario, Canada
* Sujit Choudhry, University of Toronto, Faculty of Law, Ontario, Canada
* Robert Wintemute, School of Law, King's College, University of London,
United Kingdom
* Paul Schiff Berman, University of Connecticut School of Law,
W. Hartford, Connecticut
* Kenji Yoshino, Yale Law School, New Haven, Connecticut
* Beth Van Schaack, Santa Clara University School of Law, Santa Clara,
California
* William Aceves, California Western School of Law, San Diego, California
* Margaret L. Satterthwaite, New York University School of Law, New York,
New York
* Barbara Cox, California Western School of Law, San Diego, California

Brief On Behalf Of California, Massachusetts, And National LGBT
Organizations, Authored By Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP

* Children of Lesbians and Gays Everywhere
* MassEquality
* The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force
* Freedom to Marry

Brief On Behalf Of Additional California And National LGBT Organizations,
Authored By Munger, Tolles & Olson, LLP

* Bay Area Lawyers for Individual Freedom
* Family Pride
* Human Rights Campaign
* Human Rights Campaign Foundation
* Lesbian and Gay Lawyers Association of Los Angeles
* National Lesbian and Gay Law Association
* Parents, Families & Friends of Lesbians and Gays, Inc.
* SacLEGAL
* Tom Homann Law Association

Brief Filed On Behalf Of Religious Organizations And Religiously
Affiliated Individuals, Authored Under the Leadership of Raoul D. Kennedy
By Elizabeth Harlan, Jo Ann Hoenninger, Joren S. Bass, Philip A. Leider,
Michael D. Meuti, Stephen Lee, Eric Alan Isaacson, and Rev. Silvio Nardoni

* Affirmation: Gay and Lesbian Mormons
* Al-Fatiha Foundation
* Dignity USA
* Executive Committee of the American Friends Service Committee
* General Synod of the United Church of Christ
* Soka Gakkai International-USA
* The Union for Reform Judaism
* The Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations
* Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches
* California Church IMPACT
* The California Council of Churches
* California Faith for Equality
* Council of Churches of Santa Clara County
* Friends Committee on Legislation of California
* Jews for Marriage Equality (Southern California)
* Pacific Central District Chapter of the Unitarian Universalist Ministers
Association
* Pacific Southwest Council on the Union of Reform Judaism
* Pacific Southwest District Chapter of the Unitarian Universalist
Ministers Association
* Progressive Christians Uniting
* Reconciling Ministries Clergy of the California-Nevada Conference of the
United Methodists
* Unitarian Universalist Legislative Ministry -- California

In addition to these national organizations, the brief is also signed by
46 local faith organizations and 140 faith leaders

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