An Amicus Brief in Support of Gay Marriage—From Utah?

[cbayer]

http://www.religiondispatches.org/dispatches/joannabrooks/6893/an_amicus_brief_in_support_of_gay_marriage_from_utah/

March 4, 2013 6:43pm
Post by JOANNA BROOKS

Among the amicus curiae or “friend of the court” briefs filed with the US Supreme Court last week in preparation for its hearing of the legal challenge to California’s Proposition 8 was a groundbreaking brief signed by more than twenty-five “red state” LGBT advocacy groups, including the Campaign for Southern Equality.

And where was it authored? Utah. By a team that included an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints—a Mormon.

I spoke to John Mackay, an attorney at the Salt Lake City firm of Ray, Quinney, & Nebeker, who is among the brief’s authors.

With this brief, a legal team from Utah is taking lead in articulating the nature of the challenges LGBT people in conservative areas of the country face.

Absolutely. That’s one of the things we are most proud of. The Utah Pride Center has partnered with the Campaign for Southern Equality and 28 equality groups in 23 states to shape the national discussion on these issues. The Utah Pride Center wanted to tell the story of what it’s like to be gay in Utah and live under a system we describe as “de jure denigration,” but we also wanted to take it a step further so that it could speak for other states and regions with similar laws. We want the court to view it in relationship to the segregation that occurred in the South. From a legal perspective, there are similar themes.

more at link

[dimbear]

1. When Meg Whitman jumped ship, the right wing could see the writing on the wall.

The LDS church is cutting its losses, not to mention that many Mormons are actually very socially conscious. It would be (I should say it may be) very interesting to try to rerun Proposition Hate out here. Things would come out (I predict) very differently. I cannot believe there would be any organized Mormon money backing it again.

An experiment not likely to happen, given the expected outcome of the case coming up before the Supremes.