“These winds of change are not new”
Amicus briefs filed in 10th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals
Attorneys for the plaintiffs in the Oklahoma marriage equality lawsuit filed amicus briefs in the appeal before the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last month. The brief was filed on behalf of the plaintiffs’ for the Oklahoma Marriage Equality Lawsuit and local signers of the plaintiffs' amicus briefs.
A group of about fifty supporters, media and friends filled the room at the Dennis R. Neill Equality Center in Tulsa to hear plaintiffs Mary Bishop & Sharon Baldwin and Sue Barton & Gay Phillips speak as well as signers of the amicus brief. Supporters included directors from Tulsa’s not for profit agencies, equality groups and clergy from the faith community.
“Joe and I have four children. Three of them are straight; one of them is gay,” said Nancy McDonald, who has added her name to the brief. “They are all citizens of the United States, but one of them has been denied many rights – one of them is marriage. Oklahoma is denying her the right to come home and be married in the state she was born. That is blatant discrimination.”
McDonald id the founder of PFLAG Tulsa (Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays) and served on the National PFLAG Board.
The Oklahoma marriage equality lawsuit was filed on Nov. 3rd, 2004, in U.S. District Court in Tulsa. On Jan. 14th, 2014, U.S. Senior District Judge Terence Kern ruled that Oklahoma's ban on marriage for same-sex couples violates the Equal Protection Clause of the United States Constitution. Attorneys for the state's defendant, the Tulsa County court clerk, have appealed that ruling to the 10th Circuit, and the ruling is stayed until the appeal is completed. Oral arguments before the appeals court are scheduled for April 17 in Denver.
“These winds of change are not new,” said Michael Redman, Director of Advocacy for Oklahomans for Equality. “Since last summer’s ruling on the Windsor case, ever court who has ruled has come to the same conclusion there is no reason to deny a same sex couple the right to legally marry.
“The legal arguments in same sex marriage are legal and compelling – there is no reason to deny. Our Constitution was designed to protect religious beliefs and to protect its citizens.”
The plaintiffs' attorneys, Don Holladay, James Warner III and Joseph Thai filed their main brief in the appeal on March 17th.
Oklahomans for Equality (OkEq) seeks equal rights for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) individuals and families through advocacy, education, programs, alliances, and the operation of the Dennis R. Neill Equality Center.
“I want to thank our friends and family for supporting our relationship for all these years. We have all experienced some kind of injustice in our lives. Marriage Equality is about claiming our right place in society.” -- said Dr. Gay Phillips.
“Having our marriage recognized in Oklahoma is what this is about. It is irrational to think that our relationship will somehow erode those relationships of other couples. -–Sue Barton
“I would like to thank our attorneys; Don Holladay, James Warner III and Joseph Thai. We would also be remiss if we did not give our thanks to clergy.” --Sharon Baldwin
“Sharon is at least a fourth generation Oklahoman and I am at least a sixth generation Oklahoman.
We should not have to leave our home state to share in the equal protection of the law. We are each other’s family and we want to be each other’s kin under the law. We do not want to undermine the institution of marriage we want to share it.” –Mary Bishop
by Robin Dorner, Editor in Chief
The Gayly – April 2, 2014 @ 10:15am