Democrats and Republicans may not agree on the economy, but at least some have agreed on the fight for marriage equality. A total of 212 Democratic members of Congress filed an amicus brief in the Edie Windsor case against DOMA and 131 Republicans filed a brief in the fight against California's Prop 8 marriage ban, both cases being heard by the U.S. Supreme Court this Spring in what could be landmark cases.
In all, 47 briefs were filed on behalf of the Prop 8 case, and more than 45 for the Windsor case. A full list of parties filing Windsor briefs can be found here: www.aclu.org/lgbt-rights/united-states-v-windsor-amicus-briefs-merits-filed-support-windsor and www.glad.org/doma/documents . The Prop 8 briefs can be found here: www.sfcityattorney.org/index.aspx .
The GOP brief in Hollingsworth v. Perry was filed on behalf of gay Republican Ken Mehlman and 130 other Republicans, some obscure, some party leaders, and one famous actor/director, Clint Eastwood. (The full list is at the bottom of this story.)
The Mehlman belief states: "Marriage Promotes The Conservative Values Of Stability, Mutual Support, And Mutual Obligation Amici start from the premise—recognized by this Court on numerous occasions—that marriage is both a fundamental right protected by our Constitution3 and a venerable institution that confers countless benefits, both to those who marry and to society at large. … With regard to gay marriage, the cost of a prohibition is the restriction of the liberty of two individuals of the same sex who seek the same legal status for an intimate relationship that is available to individuals of different sexes. This harm may not be restricted just to the individuals involved but may also involve broader social costs."
Meanwhile, Democratic Reps. Leader Nancy Pelosi and Jerrold Nadler and Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Patrick Leahy, among others, filed an amicus brief in U.S. v. Edith Schlain Windsor, a landmark challenge to Section 3 of the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act. Section 3 defines marriage for purposes of federal law as "only a legal union between one man and one woman," excluding same-sex couples from all marriage-based federal responsibilities and rights. A total of 172 Members of the House and 40 Members of the Senate signed onto the brief. A second brief was filed from former U.S. senators who initially voted for DOMA — Bill Bradley, Tom Daschle, Christopher Dodd and Alan Simpson; it acknowledges that much has changed since 1996.
Former Chicagoan Heather Sawyer, a lesbian attorney inducted into the city's Hall of Fame last year, is listed on the Congressional filing as House Committee on the Judiciary Minority Counsel to Ranking Members John Conyers, Jr. and Jerrold Nadler.
These 212 Members decided to participate as amici in this case because they want the Supreme Court to hear the full story from Congress, and to explain why they believe that Section 3 of DOMA is unconstitutional. They disagree with the arguments being made by lawyers hired to defend DOMA in court by the House Majority following the divided 3-2 vote of the House Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group (BLAG). As the brief explains: "DOMA imposes a sweeping and unjustifiable federal disability on married same-sex couples."
In Edith "Edie" Windsor's case, the federal government taxed Edie more than $363,000 when her spouse, Thea Spyer, passed away in 2009. The couple, constituents of Rep. Nadler in New York City, first met in 1965 and married in 2007, after an engagement that lasted more than 40 years. Yet, when Thea died, the federal government treated them as complete strangers because of DOMA, significantly reducing Edie's inheritance by denying her protections from the estate tax that other married couples receive. Edie, who is now 83 years old, challenged DOMA as a violation of equal protection. The federal district court in New York City and the Second Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in her favor, holding that DOMA violates the Fifth Amendment's equal protection guarantee.
The Members' brief, available here, urges the Supreme Court to uphold the Second Circuit's decision. It adds the unique perspective of Members of Congress—including some who voted against DOMA and others who voted for it—about the enactment of DOMA and why Section 3 is unconstitutional.
Gay and lesbian couples can now marry in nine states and the District of Columbia, and 18,000 such couples remain legally married in California.
Lead signatories:
Nancy Pelosi
Steny H. Hoyer
James E. Clyburn
Jerrold Nadler
John Conyers, Jr.
Harry Reid
Richard J. Durbin
Dianne Feinstein
Patrick J. Leahy
Charles E. Schumer
Patty Murray
Jared Polis
David N. Cicilline
Sean Patrick Maloney
Mark Pocan
Kyrsten Sinema
Mark Takano
Democratic Senators signing on:
Tammy Baldwin
Michael F. Bennet
Richard Blumenthal
Barbara Boxer
Sherrod Brown
Maria Cantwell
Benjamin Cardin
Thomas R. Carper
Christopher Coons
William "Mo" Cowan
Al Franken
Kirsten Gillibrand
Tom Harkin
Martin Heinrich
Mazie K. Hirono
Tim Kaine
Angus S. King, Jr.
Amy Klobuchar
Frank R. Lautenberg
Claire McCaskill
Robert Menendez
Jeff Merkley
Barbara A. Mikulski
Christopher S. Murphy
Bernie Sanders
Brian Schatz
Jeanne Shaheen
Debbie Stabenow
Jon Tester
Mark Udall
Mark R. Warner
Elizabeth Warren
Sheldon Whitehouse
Ron Wyden
Democratic Representatives signing on:
Robert E. Andrews
Ron Barber
Karen Bass
Joyce Beatty
Xavier Becerra
Ami Bera
Timothy H. Bishop
Earl Blumenauer
Suzanne Bonamici
Robert A. Brady
Bruce L. Braley
Corinne Brown
Julia Brownley
Cheri Bustos
Lois Capps
Michael E. Capuano
Tony Cardenas
John C. Carney, Jr.
Andre Carson
Matthew A. Cartwright
Kathy Castor
Joaquin Castro
Judy Chu
Yvette D. Clarke
Wm. Lacy Clay
Emanuel Cleaver
Steve Cohen
Gerald E. Connolly
Joe Courtney
Joseph Crowley
Elijah E. Cummings
Danny K. Davis
Susan A. Davis
Diana DeGette
John K. Delaney
Rosa L. DeLauro
Suzan K. DelBene
Theodore E. Deutch
John D. Dingell
Lloyd Doggett
Michael F. Doyle
Tammy Duckworth
Donna F. Edwards
Keith Ellison
Eliot L. Engel
Anna G. Eshoo
Elizabeth H. Esty
Sam Farr
Chaka Fattah
Bill Foster
Lois Frankel
Marcia L. Fudge
Tulsi Gabbard
John Garamendi
Joe Garcia
Alan Grayson
Al Green
Raul M. Grijalva
Luis V. Gutierrez
Janice Hahn
Colleen W. Hanabusa
Alcee L. Hastings
Denny Heck
Brian Higgins
James A. Himes
Rush Holt
Michael M. Honda
Steven A. Horsford
Jared Huffman
Steve Israel
Sheila Jackson Lee
Hakeem S. Jeffries
Eddie Bernice Johnson
Henry C. "Hank" Johnson, Jr.
Marcy Kaptur
William R. Keating
Joseph P. Kennedy III
Daniel T. Kildee
Derek Kilmer
Ann Kirkpatrick
Ann M. Kuster
James R. Langevin
John B. Larson
Barbara Lee
Sander M. Levin
John Lewis
David Loebsack
Zoe Lofgren
Alan S. Lowenthal
Nita M. Lowey
Michelle Lujan Grisham
Daniel B. Maffei
Carolyn B. Maloney
Edward J. Markey
Doris O. Matsui
Carolyn McCarthy
Betty McCollum
Jim McDermott
James P. McGovern
Jerry McNerney
Gregory W. Meeks
Grace Meng
Michael H. Michaud
George Miller
Gwen Moore
James P. Moran
Patrick Murphy
Grace F. Napolitano
Richard E. Neal
Gloria Negrete McLeod
Richard M. Nolan
Eleanor Holmes Norton
Beto O'Rourke
William L. Owens
Frank Pallone, Jr.
Bill Pascrell, Jr.
Ed Pastor
Donald M. Payne, Jr.
Ed Perlmutter
Gary C. Peters
Scott H. Peters
Chellie Pingree
David E. Price
Mike Quigley
Charles B. Rangel
Lucille Roybal-Allard
Raul Ruiz
C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger
Bobby L. Rush
Tim Ryan
Linda T. Sanchez
Loretta Sanchez
John P. Sarbanes
Janice D. Schakowsky
Adam B. Schiff
Bradley S. Schneider
Allyson Y. Schwartz
Robert C. "Bobby" Scott
Jose E. Serrano
Carol Shea-Porter
Brad Sherman
Albio Sires
Louise McIntosh Slaughter
Adam Smith
Jackie Speier
Eric Swalwell
Mike Thompson
John F. Tierney
Dina Titus
Paul Tonko
Niki Tsongas
Chris Van Hollen
Juan Vargas
Marc A. Veasey
Nydia M. Velazquez
Timothy J. Walz
Debbie Wasserman Schultz
Maxine Waters
Henry A. Waxman
Peter Welch
LIST OF REPUBLICATIONS SIGNING ONTO THE MEHLMAN BRIEF:
Kenneth B. Mehlman, Chairman, Republican National Committee, 2005-2007
Tim Adams, Undersecretary of the Treasury for International Affairs, 2005-2007
Cliff S. Asness, Businessman, Philanthropist, and Author David D. Aufhauser, General Counsel, Department of the Treasury, 2001-2003
Charles Bass, Member of Congress, 1995-2007 and 2011-2013
John B. Bellinger III, Legal Adviser to the Department of State, 2005-2009
Katie Biber, General Counsel, Romney for President, 2007-2008 and 2011-2012
Mary Bono Mack, Member of Congress, 1998-2013
William A. Burck, Deputy Staff Secretary, Special Counsel, and Deputy Counsel to the President, 2005-2009
Alex Castellanos, Republican Media Advisor
Paul Cellucci, Governor of Massachusetts, 1997-2001, and Ambassador to Canada, 2001-2005
David C. Chavern, Business Association Executive
Mary Cheney, Director of Vice Presidential Operations, Bush-Cheney 2004, 2003-2004
Thomas J. Christensen, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, 2006-2008
Jim Cicconi, Assistant to the President and Deputy to the Chief of Staff, 1989-1990
James B. Comey, U.S. Deputy Attorney General, 2003-2005
Jeff Cook-McCormac, Senior Advisor, American Unity PAC
R. Clarke Cooper, U.S. Alternative Representative, United Nations Security Council, 2007-2009
Julie Cram, Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of the White House Office of Public Liaison, 2007-2009
S.E. Cupp, Author and Political Commentator
Michele Davis, Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs and Director of Policy Planning, Department of the Treasury, 2006-2009
Tyler Deaton, Secretary, New Hampshire Young Republicans, 2011-Present
Alicia Davis Downs, Associate Political Director, White House, 2001-2003
Kenneth M. Duberstein, White House Chief of Staff and Assistant to the President, 1981-1984 and 1987-1989
Janet Duprey, New York State Assemblywoman, 2007-Present
Clint Eastwood, Producer, Director, Actor, and Mayor of Carmel, California, 1986-1988
Christian J. Edwards, Special Assistant to the President and Director of Press Advance, 2005-2007
Lew Eisenberg, Finance Chairman, Republican National Committee, 2002-2004
Mark J. Ellis, State Chairman, Maine Republican Party, 2005-2006 and 2007-2009
Elizabeth Noyer Feld, Public Affairs Specialist, White House Office of Management and Budget, 1984-1987
Charles Freeman, Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for China Affairs, 2002-2005
David Frum, Author and Special Assistant to the President, 2001-2002
Reed Galen, Director of Scheduling and Advance, Bush-Cheney 2004, 2003-2004
Richard Galen, Communications Director, Speaker's Political Office, 1996-1997
Mark Gerson, Chairman, Gerson Lehrman Group and Author of The Neoconservative Vision: From the Cold War to the Culture Wars and In the Classroom: Dispatches from an Inner-City School that Works
Benjamin Ginsberg, National Counsel, Bush-Cheney 2000 and 2004
Josh Ginsberg, National Field Director, Romney for President, 2007-2008
Juleanna Glover, Press Secretary to the Vice President, 2001-2002
John Goodwin, Chief of Staff to Raul Labrador, Member of Congress, 2011-2013
Adrian Gray, Director of Strategy, Republican National Committee, 2005-2007
Richard Grenell, Spokesman, U.S. Ambassadors to the United Nations, 2001-2008
Mark Grisanti, New York State Senator, 2011-Present
Patrick Guerriero, Mayor of Melrose, Massachusetts, and Member of Massachusetts House of Representatives, 1993-2001
Carlos Gutierrez, Secretary of Commerce, 2005-2009
Stephen Hadley, Assistant to the President and National Security Advisor, 2005-2009
Richard L. Hanna, Member of Congress, 2011-Present
Jill Hazelbaker, Communications Director, John McCain for President, 2007-2008
Israel Hernandez, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for International Trade, 2005-2009
Douglas Holtz-Eakin, Director, Congressional Budget Office, 2003-2005
Margaret Hoover, Advisor to the Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security, 2005-2006
Michael Huffington, Member of Congress, 1993-1995
Jon Huntsman, Governor of Utah, 2005-2009, and Ambassador to China, 2009-2011
David A. Javdan, General Counsel, U.S. Small Business Administration, 2002-2006
Reuben Jeffery, Undersecretary of State for Economic, Energy, and Agricultural Affairs, 2007-2009
Greg Jenkins, Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of Presidential Advance, 2003-2004
Coddy Johnson, National Field Director, Bush-Cheney 2004, 2003-2004
Gary Johnson, Governor of New Mexico, 1995-2003, and Libertarian Party Nominee for President, 2012
Nancy L. Johnson, Member of Congress, 1983-2007
Robert Kabel, Special Assistant to the President for Legislative Affairs, 1982-1985
Neel Kashkari, Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, 2008-2009
Theodore W. Kassinger, Deputy Secretary of Commerce, 2004-2005
Jonathan Kislak, Deputy Undersecretary of Agriculture for Small Community and Rural Development, 1989-1991
David Kochel, Senior Iowa Advisor, Mitt Romney for President, 2007-2008 and 2011-2012
James Kolbe, Member of Congress, 1985-2007
Cyrus Krohn, eCampaign Director, Republican National Committee, 2007-2009
Jeffrey Kupfer, Chief of Staff and Acting Deputy Secretary, Department of Energy, 2006-2009
Ed Kutler, Assistant to the Speaker of the House, 1995-1997
Kathryn Lehman, Chief of Staff, House Republican Conference, 2003-2005
Thomas A. Little, Vermont State Representative,1992-2002 and Chairman of the Vermont House Judiciary Committee, 1999-2002
Daniel S. Loeb, Businessman and Philanthropist
Alex Lundry, Director of Data Science, Romney for President, 2012
N. Greg Mankiw, Chairman, Council of Economic Advisers, 2003-2005
Catherine Martin, Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy Communications Director for Policy and Planning, 2005-2007
Kevin Martin, Chairman, Federal Communications Commission, 2005-2009
David McCormick, Undersecretary of the Treasury for International Affairs, 2007-2009
Mark McKinnon, Republican Media Advisor
Aaron McLear, Press Secretary to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, 2007-2011
Bruce P. Mehlman, Assistant Secretary of Commerce, 2001-2003
Susan Molinari, Member of Congress, 1990-1997
Connie Morella, Member of Congress, 1987-2003, and U.S. Ambassador to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, 2003-2007
Michael E. Murphy, Republican Political Consultant
Beth Myers, Romney for President Campaign Manager, 2007-2008 and Senior Advisor, 2011-2012
Michael Napolitano, White House Office of Political Affairs, 2001-2003
Ana Navarro, National Hispanic Co-Chair, John McCain for President, 2008
Susan Neely, Special Assistant to the President, 2001-2002
Noam Neusner, Special Assistant to the President for Economic Speechwriting, 2002-2005
B.J. Nikkel, Colorado State Representative and Majority Whip, 2009-2012, and District Director for Marilyn Musgrave, Member of Congress, 2002-2006
Meghan O'Sullivan, Deputy National Security Advisor for Iraq and Afghanistan, 2005-2007
Richard Painter, Associate Counsel to the President, 2005-2007
Ruth Ann Petroff, Wyoming State Representative, 2011-Present
Nancy Pfotenhauer, Regulatory Advisor, Romney for President, 2008, and Economist, Presidential Transition Team, 1988
Gregg Pitts, Director, White House Travel Office, 2006-2009
J. Stanley Pottinger, Assistant U.S. Attorney General, Civil Rights Division, 1973-1977
Michael Powell, Chairman, Federal Communications Commission, 2001-2005
Larry Pressler, U.S. Senator from South Dakota, 1979-1997, and Member of Congress, 1975-1979
Deborah Pryce, Member of Congress, 1993-2009
John Reagan, New Hampshire State Senator, 2012-Present
Luis Reyes, Special Assistant to the President and Deputy Assistant to the President, 2006-2009
Tom Ridge, Governor of Pennsylvania, 1995-2001, and Secretary of Homeland Security, 2003-2005
Mark A. Robbins, General Counsel, U.S. Office of Personnel Management, 2001-2006
Kelley Robertson, Chief of Staff, Republican National Committee, 2005-2007
Brian Roehrkasse, Director of Public Affairs, Department of Justice, 2007-2009
Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Member of Congress, 1989-Present
Harvey S. Rosen, Chairman and Member, Council of Economic Advisers, 2003-2005
Lee Rudofsky, Deputy General Counsel, Romney for President, 2012
Patrick Ruffini, eCampaign Director, Republican National Committee, 2005-2007
Corry Schiermeyer, Director for Global Communications, National Security Council, 2005-2007
Steve Schmidt, Deputy Assistant to the President and Counselor to the Vice President, 2004-2006, and Senior Advisor, John McCain for President, 2008
Adam Schroadter, New Hampshire State Representative, 2010-Present
Christopher Shays, Member of Congress, 1987-2009
Faryar Shirzad, Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Advisor for International Economic Affairs, 2004-2006
Ken Spain, Communications Director, National Republican Congressional Committee, 2009-2010
Robert Steel, Undersecretary of the Treasury for Domestic Finance, 2006-2008
Nancy Stiles, New Hampshire State Senator, 2010-Present
David Stockman, Director, Office of Management and Budget, 1981-1985
Jane Swift, Governor of Massachusetts, 2001-2003
Richard Tisei, Massachusetts State Senator 1991-2011, and Senate Minority Leader 2007-2011
Michael E. Toner, Chairman and Commissioner, Federal Election Commission, 2002-2007
Frances Fragos Townsend, Homeland Security Advisor to the President, 2004-2008
Michael Turk, eCampaign Director for Bush-Cheney 2004, 2003-2004
John Ullyot, Communications Director, U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee, 2003-2007
Sally A. Vastola, Executive Director, National Republican Congressional Committee, 2003-2006
Jacob P. Wagner, Chairman, New Hampshire Federation of College Republicans, 2012-Present
Mark Wallace, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Representative for UN Management and Reform, 2006-2008
Nicolle Wallace, Assistant to the President and White House Communications Director, 2005-2008
William F. Weld, Governor of Massachusetts, 1991-1997, and Assistant U.S. Attorney General, Criminal Division, 1986-1988
Christine Todd Whitman, Governor of New Jersey 1994-2001, and Administrator of the EPA, 2001-2003
Meg Whitman, Republican Nominee for Governor of California, 2010
Robert Wickers, Republican Political Consultant
Paul Wolfowitz, Deputy Secretary of Defense, 2001-2005, and President of the World Bank Group, 2005-2007
Dan Zwonitzer, Wyoming State Representative, 2005-present
