The Progressive

NewsWire

A project of Common Dreams

For Immediate Release
Contact:

Steve Smith, ACLU National, 212-549-2666; media@aclu.org

Supreme Court Lets Stand Four Appeals Court Decisions Requiring States to Allow Same-Sex Couples to Marry

The Supreme Court of the United States today denied review in all of the marriage equality cases pending before it. As a result of the Court's action, same-sex couples in Virginia, Wisconsin, Indiana, Oklahoma and Utah will now be able to marry the partners they love. Today's orders also mean that same-sex marriage will soon become lawful in at least 30 states.

WASHINGTON

The Supreme Court of the United States today denied review in all of the marriage equality cases pending before it. As a result of the Court's action, same-sex couples in Virginia, Wisconsin, Indiana, Oklahoma and Utah will now be able to marry the partners they love. Today's orders also mean that same-sex marriage will soon become lawful in at least 30 states.

"This is a watershed moment for the entire country. We are one big step closer to the day when all same-sex couples will have the freedom to marry regardless of where they live. The time has come and the country is ready," said James Esseks, Director of the ACLU Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender Project. "This is life-saving news for same-sex couples all across the country. Marriage helps families deal with times of crisis, and the Supreme Court's action today means more loving and committed couples will have access to the protections that marriage provides."

The ACLU was co-counsel in five of the seven petitions that were denied today, in cases from Indiana, Virginia, and Wisconsin.

The ACLU has been working for the rights of LGBT people since 1936, when it brought its first gay rights case. The organization filed the first freedom-to-marry lawsuit for same-sex couples in 1970, represented Edie Windsor in her successful challenge to the federal Defense of Marriage Act in June 2013, and has filed thirteen federal marriage lawsuits on behalf of same-sex couples since then.

More information on the ACLU's work to secure marriage equality across the country is available at:
https://www.aclu.org/out-freedom

The American Civil Liberties Union was founded in 1920 and is our nation's guardian of liberty. The ACLU works in the courts, legislatures and communities to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to all people in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States.

(212) 549-2666