What a historic day! So many emotions, it's overwhelming. As you
have surely heard by now, the Supreme Court announced a 5-4 decision today in
the Obergefell v. Hodges case. We have been waiting anxiously after the success
of Washington's Referendum 74 in 2012 and then the Supreme Court's Windsor
decision in 2013, watching state after state recognize the realities that our
families exist and deserve equal recognition and protection.
Years and years of hearing that our relationships and families are
less than others, but never giving up hope and never stopping our work to
achieve equality suddenly changes as we watch the news and hear the words that
our families and marriages will be recognized across the entirety of the United
States of America. Justice Kennedy's closing paragraph is profound:
No union is more profound than marriage, for it embodies the
highest ideals of love, fidelity, devotion, sacrifice, and family. In forming a
marital union, two people become something greater than once they were. As some
of the petitioners in these cases demonstrate, marriage embodies a love that
may endure even past death. It would misunderstand these men and women to say
they disrespect the idea of marriage. Their plea is that they do respect it,
respect it so deeply that they seek to find its fulfillment for themselves.
Their hope is not to be condemned to live in loneliness, excluded from one of
civilization's oldest institutions. They ask for equal dignity in the eyes of
the law. The Constitution grants them that right.
The Obergefell v. Hodges case examined two questions: 1) Do
same-sex couples share the constitutional right to marry or can states refuse
to issue them marriage licenses? 2) Do states have to recognize marriages
entered by same-sex couples outside the state? With the majority ruling that
the Constitution protects same-sex couples freedom to marry throughout the
nation, all state marriage bans are invalidated and all marriages performed
must be recognized throughout the country.
As with previous cases, GSBA was the first chamber to be asked to
sign on to the business-specific friend-of-the-court briefs. We were proud to
be asked to reach out to our membership and to the other chambers around the
country to stand up and declare that equality
is good business! Many of the businesses that signed on were
GSBA members from the Puget Sound region - we have said it before, and we will
say it again - we could
not be more proud of the incredible advocacy work that you all have done!
Marriage equality is an important goal that many of us have spent
years working toward. There are still many struggles for the LGBT community in
our country, including youth homelessness, care of our seniors, equal access
and respect for our trans community, and employment nondiscrimination and
religious exemptions laws. GSBA will continue to work with our partners around
the country, particularly other LGBT chambers, until equality is achieved,
which has been our focus since our founding in 1981. But, for now, this is a day
to celebrate!
Equality is good business. It was in 1981, and it still is in
2015.
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