SAN FRANCISCO, March 5, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today filed an amicus curiae brief in the 10th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in Kitchen v. Herbert supporting the equal and fundamental right to civil marriage for all Utahns. ADL and its 24 secular and religiously-diverse coalition partners argued that Utah's ban on same-sex marriage violates the First Amendment's Establishment Clause by imposing a specific religious view of marriage onto Utah's constitution. Further, the brief argues that Utah's ban contravenes the Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection Clause by denying a basic civil right for no legitimate governmental interest.
Seth Brysk, ADL Central Pacific Regional Director, and Gary E. Doctorman, ADL Regional Board Member in Salt Lake City, said:
"The principle of equal treatment under the law means equal treatment for all. Consequently, it would be illegal for Utah to force a particular religious view of marriage onto all residents. Denying same-sex couples the fundamental right to civil marriage serves no purpose other than to establish a second-class status for these relationships and families in the eyes of the law. Such laws are an affront to the U.S. Constitution."
The League's brief was drafted by the law firm of Ropes & Gray LLP, San Francisco office.
The ADL Central Pacific Region, based in San Francisco, covers Northern California, Utah, and Hawai'i.
The Anti-Defamation League, founded in 1913, is the world's leading organization fighting anti-Semitism through programs and services that counteract hatred, prejudice and bigotry. Follow us on Twitter @ADL_News
SOURCE Anti-Defamation League
