Family Equality Council Thrilled by Historic California Marriage Ruling
Statement from Executive Director Jennifer Chrisler;
Media Interviews Available
Boston, MA — Today the California Supreme Court issued a landmark pro-equality ruling in the consolidated litigation surrounding same-sex couples’ access to civil marriage in the state. Attorneys on behalf of the couples argued that California violates the equal protection clause of its own constitution by denying same-sex partners the right to marry. The Court ruled [in favor of] that argument, finding that same-sex couples in California should be given access to full civil marriage. According to the U.S. Census, California has the highest number of same-sex couples in the nation. This decision both affirms the dignity of the many lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT)-headed families in California and will have tremendous impact on those families and the ongoing national marriage equality debate.
Statement of Jennifer Chrisler, Executive Director, Family Equality Council:
“Every day thousands of LGBT-headed California families wake up, ready their children for school, participate in their communities, and worry about bedtime and bath time. Until today these moms, dads, sons and daughters cared for and supported each other without the full protection of California law. With the court’s decision LGBT-headed families in California will finally have access to the same benefits and protections other married California families have,” said Jennifer Chrisler, executive director of Family Equality Council. “In terms of guaranteed protections, there is no other legal institution as powerful as marriage in this country. With this historic and fair-minded ruling, the California Supreme Court has taken a tremendous step in moving equality forward for California families. Though we recognize that it does not take a marriage to make a family, we understand that thousands of same-sex couples and their families in California and beyond desire to marry and are in critical need of the legal protections that marriage affords. The Family Equality Council is overjoyed by this ruling that appropriately recognizes LGBT-headed families who have too long struggled to support, protect and provide for one another despite the lack of legal family recognition.”
EDITORS: To book an interview with Jennifer Chrisler, executive director of the Family Equality Council, please call or email the media contacts listed above.
About the Family Equality Council
Family Equality Council is proud to be the national non-profit organization dedicated to securing family equality. We recognize and believe that the laws, provisions and ordinances that hurt LGBTQ-headed families also hurt so many others-single parents, blended families, families of color, etc. To that end, Family Equality Council is standing strong to defeat anti-family legislation and promote pro-family legislation. For more information, please visit www.familyequality.org.