SALT LAKE CITY – Many groups, including well known national and Utah-based businesses, have filed an amici brief, arguments submitted as friends of the court not as parties to the lawsuit, in support of the challenge against Utah’s Amendment 3 which defines legal marriage as only between a man and a woman.
Midnight Wednesday was the deadline for “friends of the court” briefs to be filed with the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals. A total of 46 companies came together in one brief, including such companies as Google, Facebook, Starbucks, and eBay. Some state-based companies named in the brief include Overstock.com and XMission.
The companies support the original ruling by federal district court Judge Robert Shelby who struck down Amendment 3 as unconstitutional on Dec. 20, 2013. This led to over 1,300 same-sex couples across Utah marrying until Jan. 6, when the Utah Attorney General was able to get the U.S. Supreme Court to stay Shelby’s ruling pending outcome of its appeal. Since then Amendment 3 has been reinstated as the law of the land and has left same-sex couples married between Dec. 20 and Jan. 6 in a state of legal limbo.
The 46 businesses stated the following in their collective amici brief:
State laws and constitutions that deny marriage to gay and lesbian citizens are bad for our businesses …. Our success is dependent upon the welfare and morale of all employees, without distinction. This forced differential treatment – imposed by state law – of similarly situated employees interferes with our business and professional judgment and creates unnecessary confusion, tension, and ultimately, diminished employee morale …
As employers in a national and global economy, it is critical that we attract and retain the best employee talent. States like Utah, Oklahoma, and others whose laws or constitutions prohibit same-sex couples from marrying require us to differentiate among similarly situated employees, to our detriment. As a result, our ability to grow and maintain a diverse workplace is hampered, as is, in turn, our ability to grow and maintain our business.
Included among other groups and organizations that have filed amicus briefs opposed to Amendment 3 are:
- Alliance for a Better Utah
- Equality Utah, Gay Pride Center
- American Civil Liberties Union
- Cato Institute
- 15 states and Washington D.C.
- 40 family and child welfare professionals
- Parents, Family and Friends of Lesbians and Gays
- Episcopal Diocese of Utah, Mormons for Equality, United Church of Christ, et al.
- Constitutional law scholars
- Western Republicans
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints filed an amicus brief in favor of preserving Amendment 3 last month, as did the Family Research Council. Other religious organizations that also throw in their support for the state’s same-sex marriage ban include the Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Southern Baptist convention, and others, including:
- Sutherland Institute
- 81 members of the Utah Legislature
- Eagle Forum
- 16 Utah Counties (this includes Iron and Washington counties)
- The Becket Fund for Religious Liberties
- Center for Urban Renewal and Education, the Coalition of African-American Pastors USA, and the Frederick Douglas Foundation
The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals hears argument for and against Amendment 3 in Denver, Colo., on April 10.
Resources
- 46 business amicus brief (PDF)
Related posts
- Family Research Council files friend brief with 10th Circuit Court, Utah’s marriage definition law
- Federal government announces it will recognize Utah’s same-sex marriagesUtah won’t recognize same-sex marriages
- On the EDge: Same-sex marriage isn’t dead, just on hold
- U.S. Supreme Court halts same-sex marriages in Utah
- Utah appeals to U.S. Supreme Court to halt same-sex marriages
- Tenth Circuit denies Utah’s appeal for stay on same-sex marriage ruling
- Marriage licenses issued, weddings had for same-sex couples in Washington County
- Judge denies Utah’s request for emergency stay, same-sex marriage decision
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Twitter: @MoriKessler
Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2014, all rights reserved.
Decriminalize Cannibua then!
Thanks for letting us know the names of the businesses not to do business with. Let’s see if they survive with only the support of the gays.
I doubt you’ll be doing “business” with the Cato Institute. But you should be glad for its research. Check ’em out.
You must be an idiot to believe that Only gay people will continue to spend their dollars at E-Bay, Overstock, Starbucks etc. Do you truly believe only gay people want equality for everyone? Those big companies will do just fine without the narrow minded, the haters, and those who choose to spend their dollar$ elsewhere. These are companies who have the guts to say out loud that they support equality. For everyone.
Yeah, like JC PENNY is doing SO well after showing their “gay dad” advertisements, and having Ellen as their spokesperson. It’s only a matter of time until they go out of business. I quit shopping there and so did millions of others.
Steve JCPenney has been on the downhill slope for years. It started ling before their gay dad’s commercial was even thought of. If you ask me their big mistake was purposefully alienating parents of elementary age children , their “bread and butter”, by tryiing to attract teenagers by selling the same cheap clothes they’ve always had but at three times the price. Sorry to burst your bubble here but They are in trouble because they made stupid business decisions for years; not because of their gay dad’s commercial.
Their gay dad ad was also one of their “stupid business desicions”. Why didn’t all the gays flock to JC Penny in support of them? It did nothing but hurt their business, which was my point. Sorry to “burst your bubble”, but supporting gay marriage is not going to improve a business.
Don’t forget about all the other pro-equality companies you must immediately stop doing business with due to your complete ignorance; Apple, Facebook, Microsoft, ect ect ect…
I bet you typed your comment using the one or more of the aforementioned companies’products. Yeah, so you should probably just stop using computers all together.
Randy, I think you’re spellcheck on your “device” isn’t working. And why is it that all of the sudden if one disagrees with gay marriage they are now bigots? The values many grew up with still stand, and why should those be bashed because of those values? I personally have stopped eating at restaurants and shopping certain stores because of things I stood strongly for, an encourage others to do the same.
I feel like the gays would have encountered a lot less resistance if they’d have gone into the whole charade calling for “civil unions” instead of “marriage”. I’m so tired of the gay agenda, and pretty much think they’re an over-represented segment of society. It reminds me of how the Jewish agenda has worked tirelessly to convince the whole world that they are the most persecuted people that ever lived on this earth. I respect the gays that have enough integrity not to shove their lifestyle down the throats of everyone else. Maybe to start by not calling it “marriage”, because it is what it is, and it’s def not marriage.
I normally disagree with you Bub, but I have to say you nailed this one on the head. Why is it a single day can’t go by without the news glorifying gay marriage? Gays have all of the same rights as heterosexuals. They just want SPEACIAL rights to go along with their abnormal lifestyle.
@Mike…Just because you call it abnormal doesn’t make it true. Not being able to spell special is abnormal in my book.
Sorry for the typo. So you say being gay is normal?
Why is it that just because someone has a different view point, it’s an “agenda?” If you and others that share your belief are “so tired of the gay agenda” then help pass laws that include equality for everyone . Then and only then will you stop hearing and reading about anyone wanting equality. The media will move on to something else. BTW, This is not their “lifestyle”…it’s their life.
When the tired old white men in SLC figure out how to make $$$ out of SSM, they WILL have a “revelation” and you can bet their sheeples will begin to sing a different tune….led by Sister Gayle.
Pop culture is going through a phase right now where it’s just so hip and cool and fabulous to be a homosexual, and it disgusts me. They’ve been pushing their agenda for years at the expense of more valuable issues and the homosexual ‘marriage’ agenda is used as a political tool to divide people with common goals. Give the gays their CIVIL UNIONS or whatever, and hopefully we won’t have to hear about this garbage any longer…
@Craig, it is absolutely an agenda. Isn’t it funny that statistics show most of the US and the world care very little anymore about marriage in general, but somehow gay marriage is the most important issue of the day. It is clear that this debate has very little to do with real marriage, but has everything to do with making being gay just plain normal. It is not, and on this both God and Nature agree.
Hi Bub. They are not fighting for equal rights they are fighting for moral equivalence and acceptance. This is a desire that will never come to fruition. This is why the proposal of Civil Unions which would give them all of the legal rights is not enough. They will realize,when they win the legal challenges and are able to marry, that they still will not have everyone’s acceptance which they are looking for.
IT REMINDS ME OF HOW WE’RE FORCED TO ACCEPT ILLEGAL RESIDENTS OF THIS COUNTRY. WHY EVEN BOTHER TO HAVE BORDERS IF JUST ANYONE CAN MOVE ON IN…
I think they should not leave this topic alone. There are people who need to be heard. If you hate a person, you hate something in them that is part of yourself. what isn’t part of ourselves doesn’t disturb us. “A lot of parents will do anything for their kids – except let them be themselves.”-Bansky. We could start looking at what’s the same instead of what’s different. Appreciation and acceptance… The world is changing people are changing.. years back when my brother used to be called nigger because he was black, got called chocolate boy at school, yeah the kids could be cruel but they were never told it was wrong until now.. Being black used to seem different and bad- unequal. Now for those who get made fun of daily for being gay and showing it, they are the toughest of people, and i see it too; going to a school like Tuacahn high, my best friends get made fun off of campus all the time. Now i’d like to see the fool 20 years from now who dropped the “that’s gay” comment. Sad thing is, that’s how us humans are. We bully each other for being different. Right now the topic of being gay is just the victim, once this passes, we’ll find another thing to bully people about. Now i’m not saying to listen to my opinion or stating its fact. Just something I think about, that might help some people, and helping people is what life should be about.
Clue: equality cannot be legislated, no matter what the law reads it will not stop the thoughts and feelings of people. If I don’t agree with you why should I be forced to accept you or your lifestyle? If I don’t want to do business with you, hang out or go to church with you why are asking for a law to be passed compelling me to do so? Why should I be forced to lease a property or sell a product to anyone? The equality for which you are searching is a myth…for others to accept your position we would be forced to accept; polygamy, beastiality, under age weddings, etc. the craziest thing I have heard is that though I look in the mirror and see myself as a woman, others would have me believe that I am being fooled, that what I see is not real. If I am an alcoholic, by your definition, I shouldn’t refrain from drinking, if I am a drug addict I shouldn’t refrain from using narcotics illegally. If a person accepts and lives a homosexual lifestyle they haven’t the ability as partners to create life, it’s a dead end lifestyle. It is a lifestyle that requires for existence heterosexuals. Therefore, it can never be equal because the capacities of the homosexual lifestyle cannot perpetuate the race. Equality as you define it is a myth…you simply want others to accept your preferred methods of seemed intamcy, it’s the only thing that separates the two lifestyles.
I support gay couples having the right to protect their marijuana plants with assault weapons.
I believe many of you want the subject to go away because it makes you uncomfortable. More than likely, some of you have latent homosexual tendencies. I’ll bet more than a few of you have experimented with members of the same sex. Some of you may even be on the down low…answering Craigslist ads, posting a few of your own, running off to Mesquite or Vegas for a quickie. You want the subject dropped because it makes you squirm.
NOT AT ALL. I’M JUST TIRED OF HEARING ABOUT IT. I’D LIKE TO SEE THE MEDIA TAKE UP AN ISSUE LIKE TAXING CHURCHES OR CORPORATIONS THAT CLAIM TO BE CHURCHES. I’M TIRED OF ALL THESE RAINBOW COLORED FLAGS TOO.
I was wondering who would be first out of the closet full of denials.
huh???????????
Bub is a little afraid is he not? Does change and reality scare you little buddy?
Couldn’t have said it better myself Dana
Wow, or maybe because he grew up with those different values. Something new to bash about I feel is his point!