Arent Fox Files US Supreme Court Amicus Brief in Same-Sex Marriage Case

In April, the Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral argument in Obergefell v. Hodges which will decide whether the US Constitution requires that same-sex couples be allowed to marry. The brief makes the brand-new argument that the First Amendment, not just the Fifth, is violated when a state prohibits same sex couples from marrying. Specifically, the marriage prohibition prevents couples who cannot marry from making two contributions in elections — when married couples, as spouses, can make two.

“A prohibition against same-sex marriage is one of those provably unequal laws: it creates mathematical unconstitutional differences between similar couple’s rights to make political contributions,” said Mr. Engle in a press release issued by Liberty Education Forum.

“Combining a state’s same-sex marriage prohibitions and its campaign finance laws creates a circular scenario in which same-sex couples face discrimination with regard to their right to marry, but are prevented from equal participation through which they might end that discrimination.”

A copy of the brief can be found here, and a link to the website of the Liberty Education Forums press release on the matter can be found here.