More than 200 Mayors urge SCOTUS to rule for the freedom to marry

On Friday, March 6, 226 Mayors, as well as 40 cities, urged the United States Supreme Court to rule in favor of the freedom to marry this summer. These mayors were part of Mayors for the Freedom to Marry.

The brief explained how the freedom to marry strengthens America's cities:

Municipalities, as the level of government most closely connected to the community they serve, bear a great burden when a target sector of their populace is denied the right to marry. … When the freedom to marry is denied, municipalities are the first level of government to suffer the impact. 

Marc Solomon, national campaign director of Freedom to Marry, said today:

We launched Mayors for the Freedom to Marry three years ago because mayors are closest to their constituents and communities and singularly able to make the case that marriage makes for stronger families and a more vibrant economy. We’re very proud of the 700 mayors who have been a part of Mayors for the Freedom to Marry over the three years of this campaign. This brief demonstrates the diversity of leaders across the country who know that America is ready for the freedom to marry and want the Supreme Court to bring our country to national resolution.

“It is time for marriage equality to be the law of the land,” said U.S. Conference of Mayors CEO and Executive Director Tom Cochran. “It’s the right thing to do and that’s why the U.S. Conference of Mayors has joined this brief. Our organization adopted policy opposing discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in 1984. In 2009 we adopted policy in support of the freedom to marry, and last June reaffirmed that policy and urged the U.S. Supreme Court to rule that the freedom to marry is the right of all Americans.”

The signers included Mayor Mike Rawlings of Dallas, TX; Mayor Michael Duggan of Detroit, MI; Mayor John Cranley of Cincinnati, OH; Mayor Michael Coleman of Columbus, OH; Mayor Kevin Faulconer of San Diego; Mayor Eric Garcetti of Los Angeles; Mayor Michael Nutter of Philadelphia; Mayor Muriel Bowser of the District of Columbia; Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake of Baltimore; Mayor Mayor Karyn Hippen of Thompson, ND; Mayor Johnny Ford of Tuskegee, AL; and Mayor Madeline Rogero of Knoxville, TN.

On January 16, the United States Supreme Court announced that this year, they will hear arguments in a case on the question of whether same-sex couples should have the freedom to marry and if anti-marriage laws nationwide should be struck down as unconstitutional. The Court granted review of an out-of-step ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit, which ruled in November against the freedom to marry in Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee. In each of these cases, federal judges had ruled in favor of the freedom to marry for all, and the 6th Circuit reversed each decision.

Oral arguments in this case will be heard on April 28.

Read the full brief here. And read about the dozens of other briefs filed to the U.S. Supreme Court here