ADL Hails Tenth Circuit Ruling Striking Down Utah's Ban On Same Sex Marriage

SAN FRANCISCO, June 25, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today hailed the 10^th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruling in in Kitchen v. Herbert striking down Utah's ban on civil marriage for same-sex couples as unconstitutional.  The 2-1 decision rightly ensures the equal and fundamental right to civil marriage for all Utahns. 

In March, ADL and its 24 secular and religiously-diverse coalition partners argued in an amicus curiae brief 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 argued 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 of the today's ruling:

"The Tenth Circuit today reaffirmed the basic American principle that equal treatment under the law means equal treatment for all.  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.  As the Court correctly found, such bans are an affront to the U.S. Constitution and our nation's fundamental principles of equality and fairness."

The League's amicus 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

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