Hoyer Joins Amicus Brief On Marriage Equality Cases

WASHINGTON, DC - House Democratic Whip Steny H. Hoyer (MD) today joined a bicameral amicus brief in the marriage equality cases that are on appeal to the United States Supreme Court.  

“I am proud to join an amicus brief in the marriage equality cases soon to be argued before the Supreme Court,” said Whip Hoyer.  “Same-sex couples ought to have all the same rights, benefits, and recognition that marriage confers.  When the Court struck down a key part of the discriminatory DOMA law in 2013, it recognized this right on the federal level.  It should be no different on the state level as well.” 

“In thirty-seven States and the District of Columbia, gay and lesbian couples can marry. Over 250,000 such couples—representing more than half a million people—have done so.  Many amici hail from these States; others come from States that have yet to include same-sex couples in their marriage laws. Regardless of where we come from in this nation, we all recognize the importance of the federal-state partnership in safeguarding American families. This partnership is strongest when families are not wrongly excluded from the vast array of marriage-based rights and responsibilities. That is why many of us argued against the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) as amici in United States v. Windsor and why we participate as amici here... But no matter the standard applied, the state bans are unconstitutional and impair federal interests and the interests of our constituents.”

To read the entire brief, click here.

Full list of signatories

United States Senators

Tammy Baldwin
Michael F. Bennet
Richard Blumenthal
Cory Booker
Barbara Boxer
Sherrod Brown
Maria Cantwell
Benjamin L. Cardin
Thomas R. Carper
Robert P. Casey, Jr.
Christopher Coons
Joe Donnelly
Richard J. Durbin
Dianne Feinstein
Al Franken
Kirsten Gillibrand
Martin Heinrich
Heidi Heitkamp
Mazie K. Hirono
Tim Kaine
Angus S. King, Jr.
Amy Klobuchar
Patrick Leahy
Edward J. Markey
Claire McCaskill
Robert Menendez
Jeff Merkley
Barbara A. Mikulski
Christopher S. Murphy
Patty Murray
Bill Nelson
Gary Peters
Jack Reed
Harry Reid
Bernard Sanders
Brian Schatz
Charles E. Schumer
Jeanne Shaheen
Debbie Stabenow
Jon Tester
Mark R. Warner
Elizabeth Warren
Sheldon Whitehouse
Ron Wyden 

Members of the U.S. House of Representatives

Alma S. Adams
Pete Aguilar
Brad Ashford
Karen Bass
Joyce Beatty
Xavier Becerra
Ami Bera
Donald S. Beyer Jr.
Earl Blumenauer
Suzanne Bonamici
Brendan F. Boyle
Robert A. Brady
Julia Brownley
Cheri Bustos
Lois Capps
Michael E. Capuano
Tony Cárdenas
John C. Carney, Jr.
André Carson
Matt Cartwright
Kathy Castor
Joaquin Castro
Judy Chu
David N. Cicilline
Katherine M. Clark
Yvette D. Clarke
James E. Clyburn
Steve Cohen
Gerald E. Connolly
John Conyers, Jr.
Jim Cooper
Joe Courtney
Joseph Crowley
Elijah E. Cummings
Danny K. Davis
Susan A. Davis
Peter A. DeFazio
Diana DeGette
John K. Delaney
Rosa L. DeLauro
Suzan K. DelBene
Mark DeSaulnier
Theodore E. Deutch
Debbie Dingell
Lloyd Doggett
Michael F. Doyle
Tammy Duckworth
Donna F. Edwards
Keith Ellison
Eliot L. Engel
Anna G. Eshoo
Elizabeth H. Esty
Sam Farr
Chaka Fattah
Bill Foster
Lois Frankel
Marcia L. Fudge
Tulsi Gabbard
Ruben Gallego
John Garamendi
Alan Grayson
Al Green
Raúl M. Grijalva
Luis V. Gutiérrez
Janice Hahn
Alcee L. Hastings
Denny Heck
Brian Higgins
James A. Himes
Michael M. Honda
Steny H. Hoyer
Jared Huffman
Steve Israel
Sheila Jackson Lee
Hakeem S. Jeffries
Henry C. “Hank” Johnson, Jr.
Marcy Kaptur
Robin L. Kelly
Joseph P. Kennedy
Dan Kildee
Derek Kilmer
Ron Kind
Ann Kirkpatrick
Ann McLane Kuster
James R. Langevin
John B. Larson
Brenda L. Lawrence
Barbara Lee
Sander M. Levin
John Lewis
Ted Lieu
Dave Loebsack
Zoe Lofgren
Alan S. Lowenthal
Nita M. Lowey
Ben Ray Luján
Michelle Lujan Grisham
Stephen F. Lynch
Carolyn B. Maloney
Sean Patrick Maloney
Doris O. Matsui
Betty McCollum
Jim McDermott
James P. McGovern
Jerry McNerney
Gregory W. Meeks
Grace Meng
Gwen Moore
Seth Moulton
Patrick E. Murphy
Jerrold Nadler
Grace F. Napolitano
Richard E. Neal
Richard M. Nolan
Donald Norcross
Eleanor Holmes Norton
Beto O’Rourke
Frank Pallone, Jr.
Bill Pascrell, Jr.
Donald M. Payne, Jr.
Nancy Pelosi
Ed Perlmutter
Scott H. Peters
Chellie Pingree
Mark Pocan
Jared Polis
David E. Price
Mike Quigley
Charles B. Rangel
Kathleen M. Rice
Lucille Roybal-Allard
Raul Ruiz
C. A. Dutch Ruppersberger
Bobby L. Rush
Tim Ryan
Linda T. Sánchez
Loretta Sanchez
John P. Sarbanes
Janice D. Schakowsky
Adam B. Schiff
Robert C. “Bobby” Scott
José E. Serrano
Brad Sherman
Kyrsten Sinema
Albio Sires
Louise McIntosh Slaughter
Adam Smith
Jackie Speier
Eric Swalwell
Mark Takai
Mark Takano
Mike Thompson
Dina Titus
Paul Tonko
Norma J. Torres
Niki Tsongas
Chris Van Hollen
Juan Vargas
Marc A. Veasey
Nydia M. Velázquez
Timothy J. Walz
Debbie Wasserman Schultz
Maxine Waters
Bonnie Watson Coleman
Peter Welch
Frederica S. Wilson
John A. Yarmuth