Congresswoman Annie Kuster (NH-02) has joined with over 200 of her colleagues to submit an amicus brief to the Supreme Court of the United States urging support for marriage equality. The amicus brief refers to four upcoming Supreme Court Cases from Ohio, Tennessee, Michigan, and Kentucky (Obergefell v. Hodges, Tanco v. Haslam, DeBoer v. Snyder, and Bourke v. Beshear), which will determine whether states have the right to ban same-sex marriages.

“Our country was founded on a principle of equal rights, and no American should be discriminated against simply because of whom he or she loves,” said Congresswoman Annie Kuster. “As a nation, we took a giant step forward toward equality when the Supreme Court ruled against the discriminatory Defense of Marriage Act, but our work is far from done. We must ensure that every American, regardless of their sexual orientation, has the same legal right to marry – and this right must be recognized for every person in every state across the country. I urge the Supreme Court to continue moving our country forward as it begins to hear this case.”

The four state cases currently pending before the Supreme Court, which will be heard and decided together as one, will determine the right of individual states to regulate marriage. In the amicus brief, which was submitted on Friday evening, Congresswoman Kuster and her colleagues urge the Supreme Court to rule in favor of equal protection in the eyes of the law. The signers argue that excluding same-sex couples from the fundamental institution of civil marriage is a violation of equal rights, and is a denial of the state and federal protections that should be made available to every American who wishes to marry.  The Supreme Court should grant LGBT Americans the same Constitutional liberties that our forefathers intended to be enjoyed by all U.S. citizens. 

Congresswoman Kuster is a strong advocate for equal rights, and supporter of LGBT equality across the board. In 2012, she signed a similar amicus brief to the Supreme Court advocating for the Court to overturn the prejudicial Defense of Marriage Act, thereby forcing the federal government to recognize same-sex marriages as legal. Kuster is a member of the Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus, an organization dedicated to promoting equal protection under the law for LGBT Americans.

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