Kramer Levin Files Amicus Brief in Historic Supreme Court Cases Showing Broad Support for Marriage Equality Among Mainstream U.S. Religions

Kramer Levin has filed an amicus brief on behalf of numerous major religious organizations and nearly 2,000 individual faith leaders – including leadership of the Episcopal Church, the United Church of Christ, the Unitarian Universalist Association, and Conservative, Reform and Reconstructionist Judaism, among others – supporting recognition of the freedom to marry for same-sex couples in the potentially historic cases now pending before the U.S. Supreme Court.

The brief, filed in Obergefell v. Henry and three related pending cases, documents the growing trend among mainstream U.S religions towards respect for same-sex couples and their relationships, inclusion of same-sex couples in religious marriage, and support for equality in access to civil marriage. The brief concludes that recognition of the freedom to marry is consistent with fundamental principles of both equal protection and religious freedom.

The Kramer Levin brief also responds to arguments made before the Sixth Circuit in the pending cases by opponents of the freedom to marry premised on religious views about the definition of marriage and amorphous concerns that recognizing marriage equality would result in a threat to religious liberty. The brief argues that eliminating discrimination in civil marriage will not impinge upon religious doctrine, conscience or practice; that it will not create an undue burden on religious freedom for organizations and individuals functioning in the commercial realm; and that giving legal weight to religious views on marriage would unconstitutionally enshrine religious doctrine in civil law and improperly favor some religious views over others.

The major leaders and institutions signing on to the brief include the President of the House of Deputies of the Episcopal Church and the Episcopal Bishops of Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and Tennessee; the General Synod of the United Church of Christ; the Union for Reform Judaism; the Unitarian Universalist Association; the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism; Covenant Network of Presbyterians; and Muslims for Progressive Values, among others.

The brief echoes themes in similar briefs filed by Kramer Levin in the 2013 cases of U.S. v. Windsor, in which the Court ultimately struck down a key provision of the Defense of Marriage Act (“DOMA”), and Hollingsworth v. Perry, in which the Court dismissed an appeal challenging the decision striking down California’s Proposition 8.

The Obergefell brief concludes that “civil recognition of same-sex relationships through lawful marriage is fundamentally consistent with the religious pluralism woven into the fabric of American law, culture, and society” and that reversing the 6th Circuit decision and establishing the freedom to marry nationwide would “recognize the creative tension inherent in religions’ interface with our own pluralistic, changing society while confirming that all, regardless of faith, are entitled to equal protection under the law.”

"The remarkable evolution of mainstream religious views on the freedom to marry reflects broad changes in society at large," said Kramer Levin partner Jeffrey S. Trachtman, counsel of record on the brief. "There is a clearly emerging national consensus cutting across many segments of society that the time has come to resolve this issue nationally and ensure fairness for all couples."

The Kramer Levin team that drafted the brief includes Trachtman and fellow Litigation partner Norman C. Simon and associates Jason M. Moff and Kurt M. Denk, with assistance from law clerks Joel Pietrzak, Catherine Hoge, and Harold Robinson.

Kramer Levin has played a leading role in pro bono LGBT rights litigation for nearly two decades. The firm has previously submitted amicus briefs in Boy Scouts v. Dale and Lawrence v. Texas, two landmark LGBT rights cases before the Supreme Court; the two 2013 marriage cases; and several subsequent Court of Appeals cases on marriage equality. The firm also served as co-counsel in Hernandez v. Robles, which sought equal marriage rights under the New York constitution.

Click here for the full brief.