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Hollingsworth V. Perry, Legal Challenges to the So-Called Defense of Marriage Act, and Other LGBT Equality Cases

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Hollingsworth V. Perry, Legal Challenges to the So-Called Defense of Marriage Act, and Other LGBT Equality Cases No. 12-144 IN THE Supreme Court of the United States _________ DENNIS HOLLINGSWORTH, et al., Petitioners, v. KRISTIN M. PERRY, et al., Respondents. _________ On Writ of Certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit _________ BRIEF FOR AMICI CURIAE LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE ON CIVIL AND HUMAN RIGHTS, BAR ASSOCIATIONS AND PUBLIC INTEREST AND LEGAL SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS IN SUPPORT OF RESPONDENTS _________ ANNE M. RODGERS JONATHAN S. FRANKLIN* LAUREN MILLER ETLINGER FULBRIGHT & JAWORSKI L.L.P. TRAVIS A. TORRENCE 801 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W. TARA TUNE Washington, D.C. 20004 ELIOT FIELDING TURNER (202) 662-0466 JAMIE WHITNEY [email protected] GERALDINE W. YOUNG FULBRIGHT & JAWORSKI L.L.P. LISA BORNSTEIN 1301 McKinney THE LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE Suite 5100 ON CIVIL AND HUMAN RIGHTS Houston, TX 77010 1629 K Street, N.W., 10th Fl. (713) 651-5151 Washington, D.C. 20006 (202) 466-3311 * Counsel of Record Counsel for Amici Curiae TABLE OF CONTENTS Page TABLE OF AUTHORITIES ...................................... ii INTEREST OF AMICI CURIAE ............................... 1 SUMMARY OF THE ARGUMENT ........................... 3 ARGUMENT .............................................................. 6 I. LAWRENCE REMOVED ANY PERCEIVED IMPEDIMENT TO THE RECOGNITION OF HEIGHTENED SCRUTINY FOR SEXUAL ORIENTATION CLASSIFICATIONS ............ 6 II. SEXUAL ORIENTATION CLASSIFICATIONS WARRANT HEIGHTENED SCRUTINY ........................... 9 A. Sexual Orientation Classifications Raise The Same Concerns As Other Classifications Accorded Heightened Scrutiny ...................................................... 9 B. Gay People Have Suffered A Long History Of Prejudicial Discrimination .......................................... 14 C. Sexual Orientation Bears No Relation To A Person’s Ability To Perform In Or Contribute To Society ...... 19 D. Sexual Orientation Is A Distinguishing Characteristic That Defines A Discrete Group ........................ 22 E. Gay People Remain Disadvantaged In The Political Arena .............................. 24 CONCLUSION ......................................................... 29 APPENDIX (i) ii TABLE OF AUTHORITIES Page(s) CASES: Able v. United States, 968 F. Supp. 850 (E.D.N.Y. 1997) ................................................. 18 Ben-Shalom v. Marsh, 881 F.2d 454 (7th Cir. 1989) ............................................... 8, 15 Bowen v. Gilliard, 483 U.S. 587 (1987) ........ 13, 22 Bowers v. Hardwick, 478 U.S. 186 (1986) ..........................................................passim Christian Legal Soc’y Chapter of the Univ. of Cal., Hastings Coll. of Law v. Martinez, 130 S. Ct. 2971 (2010) ........................................................... 18, 22 Citizens for Equal Protection v. Bruning, 455 F.3d 859 (8th Cir. 2006) ............................. 21 City of Cleburne v. Cleburne Living Ctr., 473 U.S. 432 (1985) ....................................passim City of New Orleans v. Dukes, 427 U.S. 297 (1976) .......................................................... 10 Clark v. Jeter, 486 U.S. 456 (1988) ..................... 10 Conaway v. Deane, 932 A.2d 571 (Md. 2007) .................................................................. 16 Cook v. Gates, 528 F.3d 42 (1st Cir. 2008) .................................................................... 8 Craig v. Boren, 429 U.S. 190 (1976).................... 27 Equal. Found. of Greater Cincinnati, Inc. v. City of Cincinnati, 54 F.3d 261 (6th Cir. 1995) ....................................................... 7, 20 iii TABLE OF AUTHORITIES—Continued Page(s) Equal. Found. of Greater Cincinnati, Inc. v. City of Cincinnati, 860 F. Supp. 417 (S.D. Ohio 1994) ................................................ 20 Frontiero v. Richardson, 411 U.S. 667 (1973) ..........................................................passim Golinski v. U.S. Office of Pers. Mgmt., 824 F. Supp. 2d 968 (N.D. Cal. 2012) ........passim High Tech Gays v. Def. Indus. Sec. Clearance Office, 895 F.2d 563 (9th Cir. 1990) .................................................................... 8 High Tech Gays v. Def. Indus. Sec. Clearance Office, 909 F.2d 375 (9th Cir. 1990) .................................................................... 8 In re Marriage Cases, 183 P.3d 384 (Cal. 2008) .................................................................. 23 Jantz v. Muci, 759 F. Supp. 1543 (D. Kan. 1991) ......................................................... 20 Jantz v. Muci, 976 F.2d 623 (10th Cir. 1992) .................................................................... 7 Kerrigan v. Comm’r of Pub. Health, 957 A.2d 407 (Conn. 2008) ........................passim Lawrence v. Texas, 539 U.S. 558 (2003) ......passim Locke v. Davey, 540 U.S. 712 (2004) ................... 10 Lofton v. Sec’y of the Dep’t of Children & Family Servs., 358 F.3d 804 (11th Cir. 2004) .................................................................... 8 Lyng v. Castillo, 477 U.S. 635 (1986) ........... 11, 13 Mass. Bd. of Ret. v. Murgia, 427 U.S. 307 (1976) ....................................passim Matthews v. Lucas, 427 U.S. 495 (1976) ....... 11, 12 iv TABLE OF AUTHORITIES—Continued Page(s) Mills v. Habluetzel, 456 U.S. 91 (1982) .............. 11 Nyquist v. Mauclet, 432 U.S. 1 (1977) ................ 13 Padula v. Webster, 822 F.2d 97 (D.C. Cir. 1987) .................................................................... 8 Palmore v. Sidoti, 466 U.S. 429 (1984) ............... 19 Pedersen v. Office of Pers. Mgmt., 881 F. Supp. 2d 294 (D. Conn. 2012) ........passim Perry v. Schwarzenegger, 704 F. Supp. 2d 921 (N.D. Cal. 2010) ........passim Plyler v. Doe, 457 U.S. 202 (1982) ................. 10, 23 Price-Cornelison v. Brooks, 524 F.3d 1103 (10th Cir. 2008) .......................................... 8 Richenberg v. Perry, 97 F.3d 256 (8th Cir. 1996) ............................................................. 7 Romer v. Evans, 517 U.S. 620 (1996) .................. 10 Rowland v. Mad River Local Sch. Dist., 470 U.S. 1009 (1985) ..................................... 7, 15 San Antonio Indep. Sch. Dist. v. Rodriguez, 411 U.S. 1 (1973) .....................passim Scarbrough v. Morgan Cnty. Bd. of Educ., 470 F.3d 250 (6th Cir. 2006) ................... 8 Snetsinger v. Montana Univ. Sys., 104 P.3d 445 (Mont. 2004) ................................ 12 Steffan v. Perry, 41 F.3d 677 (D.C. Cir. 1994) .................................................................. 20 Thomasson v. Perry, 80 F.3d 915 (4th Cir. 1996) ..................................................... 7 United States v. Virginia, 518 U.S. 515 (1996) .................................................... 11, 15 v TABLE OF AUTHORITIES—Continued Page(s) Watkins v. U.S. Army, 875 F.2d 699 (9th Cir. 1989) ............. 8, 13, 20, 23 Witt v. U.S. Dep’t of Air Force, 527 F.3d 806 (9th Cir. 2008) ............................... 8 Woodward v. United States, 871 F.2d 1068 (Fed. Cir. 1989) ........................... 8 OTHER AUTHORITIES: American Psychological Association, Sexual Orientation and Homosexuality ........... 24 John Hart Ely, Democracy and Distrust: A Theory of Judicial Review 162 (1980)....... 7, 13 Douglas Haldeman, The Practice and Ethics of Sexual Orientation Conversion Therapy, 62 J. Consulting & Clinical Psychol. 221 (1994) ......................... 24 Jerome Hunt, Why the Gay and Trans- gender Population Experiences Higher Rates of Substance Abuse, Center for American Progress (Mar. 9, 2012) ................... 26 Dan Levine, Obama Nominates Openly Gay Lawyer For Patent Appeals Court (Feb. 7, 2013) ..................................................... 25 Katie Miller and Jeff Krehely, New Data Demonstrates Unique Needs of Gay and Transgender Families (Oct. 31, 2012) ............. 26 Nat’l Ctr. for Health Statistics, Sexual Behavior, Sexual Attraction, and Sexual Identity in the United States: Data From the 2006–2008 National Survey of Family Growth .................................. 24 vi TABLE OF AUTHORITIES—Continued Page(s) Note, The Constitutional Status of Sexual Orientation: Homosexuality as a Suspect Classification, 98 Harv. L. Rev. 1285 (1985) .......................................................... 7 Policy Concerning Homosexuality in the Armed Forces: Hearings Before the Sen. Comm. on Armed Servs., S. Hrg. No. 103-845, 103rd Cong., 2d Sess. (1993) ............. 18 Kenneth D. Wald, “The Context of Gay Politics,” in The Politics of Gay Rights (C. Rimmerman, K. Wald & C. Wilcox eds., 2000) ......................................................... 26 IN THE Supreme Court of the United States _________ No. 12-144 _________ DENNIS HOLLINGSWORTH, et al., Petitioners, v. KRISTIN M. PERRY, et al., Respondents. _________ On Writ of Certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit _________ BRIEF FOR AMICI CURIAE LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE ON CIVIL AND HUMAN RIGHTS, BAR ASSOCIATIONS AND PUBLIC INTEREST AND LEGAL SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS IN SUPPORT OF RESPONDENTS _________ INTEREST OF AMICI CURIAE Amici are a coalition of bar associations, civil and human rights groups, and public interest and legal service organizations committed to preventing, combating, and redressing discrimination, and protecting the equal rights of women and minorities in the United States, including African-Americans, Latinos, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, and 2 lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people. 1 Amici have a vital interest in ensuring that the Constitution’s guarantee of equal protection effectively protects
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