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SIGN THE BRIEF READ THE BRIEF ABOUT HRC.ORG The People’s Brief
TIMES CAN BLIND US TO CERTAIN TRUTHS,” SUPREME COURT JUSTICE ANTHONY KENNEDY WROTE IN A MAJOR 2003 LGBT RIGHTS OPINION, “LATER GENERATIONS CAN SEE THAT LAWS ONCE THOUGHT NECESSARY AND PROPER IN FACT ONLY SERVE TO OPPRESS.
When laws and constitutional amendments banning marriage equality were passed, many voters and legislators really were blinded by the times. They did not realize that they knew LGBT people personally. They did not recognize the contributions that LGBT people and their families make—as employees, as neighbors, as part of the social fabric in every community in America. Some saw the LGBT community as strangers, not as people with the same hopes and dreams as anyone else.
In many respects, those oppressive times are behind us. In poll after poll, the broad majority of Americans now support marriage equality. Many people who once opposed it are unafraid to admit their views have evolved. Why? They’ve simply met LGBT people in their own lives.
In other words, the laws challenged in this case are more than fundamentally unfair. They were also adopted in at a time that utterly failed to take into account LGBT Americans as individuals deserving of dignity. The Court has recognized that dignity throughout its history—most recently in U.S. v. Windsor. But recognizing that dignity isn’t enough. It’s time to leave the blindness of the past behind, and guarantee the equal protection our constitution promises to every American.
READ THE BRIEF
Read the full text of The People’s Brief, a joint effort by the Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender civil rights organization, and Roberta Kaplan, the acclaimed civil rights attorney who famously advocated on behalf of marriage equality in U.S. v. Windsor in 2013*.
READ THE BRIEF
SIGN THE BRIEF
FIRST NAME
M. INITIAL
LAST NAME
EMAIL ADDRESS
ADDRESS
STATE
ZIP / POSTAL CODE
PHONE NUMBER
I SWEAR OR AFFIRM THAT I AM AT LEAST 18 YEARS OF AGE
I SWEAR OR AFFIRM THAT I AM EITHER: A CITIZEN OF THE UNITED STATES; OR A LEGAL PERMANENT RESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.
I swear or affirm that I am interested in the outcome of this case because (select the one that best applies to you):
I AM LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL OR TRANSGENDER (LGBT)
I HAVE LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL OR TRANSGENDER FAMILY MEMBERS
I HAVE LGBT FRIENDS
I OWN OR WORK FOR A BUSINESS THAT WOULD BENEFIT FROM LGBT PEOPLE HAVING THE RIGHT TO MARRY
NONE OF THE ABOVE, BUT I BELIEVE THAT THE U.S. CONSTITUTION REQUIRES MARRIAGE EQUALITY
Disclaimer: The full text of the ‘People’s Brief’ is at www.thepeoplesbrief.com. The version of the People’s Brief available at this website is a substantively final draft, subject to proofreading and/or technical changes before filing. By submitting this form, you swear or affirm that the information that you provided is true and correct and you acknowledge that you will be added as a signatory to the official amicus brief referred to as ‘The People’s Brief’. You give HRC permission to publish your name in official court filings with the U.S. Supreme Court and also in any promotion of ‘The People’s Brief’ that may be circulated publicly. New signatures collected in connection to The People’s Brief will be only used in relation to the amicus brief to the United States Supreme Court and not for other purposes. Thank you for standing with HRC in support of full legal marriage equality.
I SWEAR OR AFFIRM THAT I HAVE READ “THE PEOPLE’S BRIEF,” AGREE WITH ITS ARGUMENTS, AND WANT TO ADD MY SIGNATURE.
ABOUT
The Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) civil rights organization, and Roberta Kaplan, the leading civil rights litigator who famously argued U.S. v. Windsor before the U.S. Supreme Court in 2013, launched this unprecedented “People’s Brief” on marriage equality to the Court.
As the nine Justices prepare to hear oral arguments in four critical marriage equality cases this spring, The People’s Brief marks the first time that tens of thousands of fair-minded Americans will have the opportunity to have their voices formally heard in a civil rights case of this magnitude. Americans who are LGBT or have LGBT friends, family members, and colleagues can review the content of the brief, and affix their name to a document that will be considered by the highest court in the land.
SIGN THE BRIEF
To have your name submitted to the Court, all names must be signed by noon February 27, 2015.
*This brief is a substantively final draft, subject only to any proofreading or technical changes (such as to citations) that may be identified. The final, as-to-be filed brief will be posted here on March 2, 2015.