New York, NY, June 26, 2015 … The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today praised the Supreme Court’s decision in the four cases challenging the constitutionality of state marriage bans that limited marriage to one man and one woman, calling it “an historic step toward full civil rights for LGBT in America.”
In a 5-4 decision, the Court held that the 14th Amendment requires a state to license a marriage between two people of the same sex and to recognize marriages lawfully performed in other jurisdictions.
Barry Curtiss-Lusher, ADL National Chair, and Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director, issued the following statement:
The court stood on the right side of history. The decision extending the freedom to marry to all same-sex couples nationwide upholds the dignity and liberty of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people everywhere.
This historic ruling, falling on the anniversaries of the Supreme Court decisions in Windsor and Lawrence v. Texas, is one of the most consequential decisions for the LGBT community, and indeed one of the most significant civil rights decisions in recent memory. But this is just one historic step on the journey for ‘justice and fair treatment to all.’ We remain steadfast in our commitment to fighting for the full range of LBGT rights, including the right to be free from all forms of discrimination.
ADL’s amicus brief, filed on behalf of a broad, diverse group of religiously affiliated organizations, recounted how discriminatory laws targeting disadvantaged groups have long been justified by religious and moral disapproval, an argument that has been rejected by the U.S. Supreme Court.
The brief argued that overturning the marriage ban would not only ensure that religious considerations do not improperly influence which marriages the state can recognize, but would also allow religious groups to decide the definition of marriage for themselves.
ADL was joined on the briefs by American Jewish Committee; Bend the Arc: A Jewish Partnership for Justice; The Central Conference of American Rabbis and the Women of Reform Judaism; Global Justice Institute; Hadassah – The Women’s Zionist Organization of America, Inc.; The Hindu American Foundation; The Interfaith Alliance Foundation; The Japanese American Citizens League; Jewish Social Policy Action Network (JSPAN); Keshet; Metropolitan Community Church; More Light Presbyterians; The National Council of Jewish Women; Nehirim; People for the American Way Foundation; Presbyterian Welcome; Reconciling Works: Lutherans for Full Participation; Reconstructionist Rabbinical College and Jewish Reconstructionist Communities; Religious Institute, Inc.; The Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund; Society for Humanistic Judaism; South Asian Americans Leading Together; T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights; and Women’s League for Conservative Judaism.
The law firm Greenberg Traurig, LLP prepared the friend-of-the-court brief on behalf of ADL.