More than 200 businesses have gone on record in support of same-sex marriage, including Google, Amazon, Facebook, Microsoft, Starbucks, Pfizer, Inc., Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, Intel, and Thomson Reuters Corp.
The Christian Post reported that these 200 businesses will issue a brief to the Supreme Court in support of gay marriage. Courts are preparing to examine Proposition 8, the law that banned gay marriage in the state in 2008, in late May. The federal courts will also take another look at the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) signed by former president Bill Clinton defining marriage as between a man and a woman, which prevents the federal government from recognizing same-sex unions.
President Barack Obama has already said he does not support DOMA and feels homosexual couples should be able to marry. Last week the White House filed its own brief with the Supreme Court encouraging the end to the federal law.
“Section 3 of DOMA violates the fundamental constitutional guarantee of equal protection,” argued Solicitor General Donald Verrill. “The law denies to tens of thousands of same-sex couples who are legally married under state law an array of important federal benefits that are available to legally married opposite-sex couples. Because this discrimination cannot be justified as substantially furthering any important governmental interest, Section 3 is unconstitutional.”
