Following the scores of Republican leaders who have filed an amicus brief to the US Supreme Court in favor of marriage equality dozens of American companies including Apple, Alcoa, Facebook, eBay, Intel & Morgan Stanley will also submit an amicus brief in the landmark Hollingsworth v. Perry case that laws banning gay & lesbian marriages are unconstitutional. According to a draft copy obtained by Fortune Magazine the companies argue that such laws "send an unmistakable signal that same-gender couples are in some way inferior to opposite-gender couples, a proposition that is anathema to amici's commitment to equality & fair treatment to all." At least 60 companies have committed to signing the brief & that number is expected to rise. Other companies who have already committed to sign include AIG, Becton Dickinson, Cisco, Cummins, Kimpton, Levi Strauss, McGraw Hill, NCR, Nike, Office Depot, Oracle, Panasonic, Qualcomm & Xerox. In the main brief filed last week by AFER’s Theodore Olson & David Boies it also argues that "recognizing the rights of same-gender couples to marry is more than a constitutional issue. It is a business imperative. By singling out a group for less favorable treatment, Proposition 8 impedes businesses from achieving the market's ideal of efficient operations—particularly in recruiting, hiring & retaining talented people who are in the best position to operate at their highest capacity. Amici are competing domestically & internationally with companies inside & outside the United States in places where all couples, regardless of whether they are of the same gender, are afforded equal access to marriage.”
Prop 8 is headed to the US Supreme Court next month.
Updates to Come…:)
