AFER lead co-counsel Ted Olson appeared on Face the Nation to discuss President Obama’s endorsement of marriage equality.

“It’s very important for everyone, Republicans and Democrats alike, liberals and conservatives, to recognize the rights of individuals who love one another to get married and to be respected and be treated with equality and dignity…”

In a roundtable discussion later in the show, Ted said:

“Marriage is a conservative value…People that love one another, that wish to form a stable bond, a part of our economy, a part of our community, that should be a conservative value.”

In this week’s video: Obama endorses marriage equality and we look at what that means for LGBT Americans and for the future. Colorado’s civil unions bill looked dead in the water last week, but this week the Governor’s found a way to give it one last shot at passing in 2012.

AFER lead co-counsel Ted Olson appeared on Hardball with Chris Matthews on MSBC to discuss marriage equality with Freedom to Marry Executive Director Evan Wolfson.

Here’s what Ted had to say:

“The Supreme Court of the United States has said fourteen times that marriage is a fundamental right, That it’s a matter of privacy, that it’s a matter of  liberty, it’s a matter spirituality, it’s a matter of association.”

…

“What the President did was very helpful. He was great to do it. That was something that was very important. And the way he did it was very impressive. Talking about his daughters, talking about loving couples that he knows to be allowed to have the relationship that you and I have… The more we talk about this, the more we realize it’s our friends, it’s our neighbors, it’s our coworkers, it’s the people down the street, are loving couples that want to live together and make a building block out of society….The more we talk about this issue, the more people will understand that it is terribly unfair and discriminatory to deny happiness and stability to same-sex couples.”

President Obama’s announcement yesterday that he supports full marriage equality for gay and lesbian American is nothing less than historic. For the first time, a sitting U.S. President has come out in strong, full support of full equality.

Here’s a round-up of interviews quoting people involved with AFER’s case for marriage equality.

AFER Board President Chad Griffin in The Washington Post:

Obama’s words “will be celebrated by generations to come.”

In The New York Times, Chad said:

“If you are one of those who care about this issue, you will not forget where you were when you saw the president deliver those remarks. Regardless of how old you are, it’s the first time you have ever seen a president of the United States look into a camera and say that a gay person should be treated equally under the law. The message that that sends, to a young gay or transgender  person struggling to come out, is life changing.”

Chad was also featured in an interview with Piers Morgan:

AFER’s case was featured in The New York Times’ editorial:

A federal judge in California, supported by an appellate court panel, has ruled that a ban on same-sex marriage violates the 14th Amendment right to equal protection. That decision will probably reach the Supreme Court, and, when it does, we expect Mr. Obama, if he is still president, will take the final step in his evolutionary process and direct the Justice Department to support that ruling and urge the court to uphold equality in every state.

AFER lead co-counsel and former George W. Bush Administration Solicitor General Ted Olson was featured in a front-page story in The Daily Beast:

“It is very sad to me that people who belong to the party of Abraham Lincoln are resisting so strenuously the equality and decency and integrity and treatment of our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters,” Olson said. “This seems to be one of the last major civil rights battles of our country. And for people in our country to come out in numbers like this and say, ‘Well, we don’t want the persons next door—who are decent, God-fearing, taxpaying, obeying-the-law citizens who simply want to have happiness like the rest of us’—to say ‘No, I have that right and you can’t have it.’ That just seems mean to me.”

In the Los Angeles Times, Ted said:

The bedrock American principles of freedom and human dignity are central to the political and legal convictions of Republicans, Democrats, liberals, and conservatives alike. President Obama’s words remind us that marriage and equality are universal values that unite us all.  They remind us that we are all — as a people and a nation — striving to form a more perfect union.”

Ted Olson also spoke with Frank Bruni of The New York Times:

“Where does the Congress get the power to regulate marriage?” He’s not sure it exists. “You have to find something in the Constitution that empowers Congress and the Federal government to do that.”

He said that arguments could perhaps be made that the 14th Amendment, which contains language guaranteeing the equal protection of all citizens and was cited in the 1967 U.S. Supreme Court decision that struck down state laws against interracial marriage, gives Congress a point of entry into marriage law.

AFER plaintiffs Paul Katami and Jeff Zarrillo, residents of Burbank, CA, were featured in an article by the Glendale News-Press:

Burbank resident Paul Katami, who with his longtime partner, Jeff Zarrillo, filed a joint legal challenge with a lesbian couple to California’s voter-approved Proposition 8 banning same-sex marriage, was celebrating Wednesday what he described as a “very good day” for the gay community.

“This is what America is about,” Katami said. “This isn’t something that needs to be a divisive issue, this is something that should be a uniting issue.”

AFER plaintiffs Kris Perry & Sandy Stier were featured in a video by The Associated Press:

Kris and Sandy also with Steve Jaxon on The Drive at KSRO in Sonoma County

AFER Board Member Dustin Lance Black was featured in The Huffington Post:

“It does show leadership. It shows strength. And all these things I’ve been waiting to see,” Black said. “I’ve caught myself saying, ‘Yes we can’ again.”

Margaret Hoover, AFER Advisory Board Member, wrote an opinion piece at CNN.com:

While the reigning stereotype is that Republicans are opposed to gay rights, growing Republican support in state-by-state fights belies this perception. Indeed, in New Hampshire and New York, Republicans were critical to recent marriage freedom victories.

George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Martin Sheen and Kevin Bacon join an all-star cast for a reading of Dustin Lance Black’s documentary play about the federal Prop. 8 trial. Find out more >

Here’s a mid-year update on everything that’s happened with marriage equality so far in 2012. From Obama’s endorsement to a Prop. 8 victory to North Carolina, this has been an intense year for marriage — and it’s not even half-over. Here’s what’s you need to know about what’s happened so far and what’s coming next.

Ted Olson, David Boies, and Chad Griffin: Today is a proud day for all Americans

Los Angeles, CA – Today, in an interview with Robin Roberts of ABC News, President Barack Obama announced his support for marriage equality.

“Today is a proud day for all Americans,” said AFER lead co-counsel Theodore B. Olson.  “The bedrock American principles of freedom and human dignity are central to the political and legal convictions of Republicans, Democrats, liberals, and conservatives alike.  President Obama’s words remind us that marriage and equality are universal values that unite us all.  They remind us that we are all—as a People and a Nation—striving to form a more perfect Union.”

“Today is a great day for the American people as we move one very important step closer toward fulfilling our nation’s founding promise of equality for all,” said AFER lead co-counsel David Boies.  “President Obama has earned yet another place in history for being the first president to support full equality for gay and lesbian Americans.”

“President Obama’s words today will be celebrated by generations to come,” said AFER Board President Chad Griffin.  “For the millions of young gay and lesbian Americans across this nation, their President’s words provide genuine hope that they will be the first generation to grow up with the freedom to fully pursue the American dream.  Marriage—the promise of love, companionship, and family—is basic to the pursuit of that dream.  Our Constitution’s promise, the promise of liberty, is one that every generation must realize.  As President Obama recognized today, the fight to secure marriage equality is the defining element of our generation’s search for greater freedom.”

Press Contact

• Elizabeth Riel 323.892.2081 or elizabeth@afer.org

About the American Foundation for Equal Rights

The American Foundation for Equal Rights is the sole sponsor of Perry v. Brown, the federal constitutional challenge to California’s Proposition 8.  After bringing together bipartisan attorneys Theodore B. Olson and David Boies to lead its legal team, AFER successfully advanced the Perry case through Federal District Court and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.  The Perry case has the distinction of being the first federal freedom to marry lawsuit in American history.  The Foundation is committed to achieving full federal marriage equality.

www.afer.org 

While North Carolina already denies gay and lesbian couples the fundamental freedom to marry, Amendment One writes a ban into the state’s constitution.  The amendment goes beyond restricting marriage equality and poses a serious threat to the well-being of families, children, women and seniors in North Carolina.

Adam Umhoefer, AFER Executive Director:

“The passage of Amendment One is a profound injustice.  Singling out a class of citizens for discriminatory treatment is unfair, unlawful and violates basic American values. Gay and lesbian Americans, like their fellow citizens, want nothing more than to marry the person they love.  Committed, loving couples and their families should not be denied this most fundamental freedom.”

Los Angeles, CA – Today, North Carolina adopted Amendment One, a state constitutional amendment that prohibits marriage equality and any form of legal relationship recognition for gay and lesbian North Carolinians.

While North Carolina already denies gay and lesbian couples the fundamental freedom to marry, Amendment One writes a ban into the state’s constitution.  The amendment goes beyond restricting marriage equality and poses a serious threat to the well-being of families, children, women and seniors in North Carolina.

“The passage of Amendment One is a profound injustice.  Singling out a class of citizens for discriminatory treatment is unfair, unlawful and violates basic American values,” said AFER Executive Director Adam Umhoefer.  “Gay and lesbian Americans, like their fellow citizens, want nothing more than to marry the person they love.  Committed, loving couples and their families should not be denied this most fundamental freedom.”

Press Contacts

• Elizabeth Riel 310.560.4886 or elizabeth@afer.org
• Brandon Hersh 202.412.9766 or brandon@afer.org

About the American Foundation for Equal Rights

The American Foundation for Equal Rights is the sole sponsor of Perry v. Brown, the federal constitutional challenge to California’s Proposition 8.  After bringing together bipartisan attorneys Theodore B. Olson and David Boies to lead its legal team, AFER successfully advanced the Perry case through Federal District Court and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.  The Perry case has the distinction of being the first federal freedom to marry lawsuit in American history.  The Foundation is committed to achieving full federal marriage equality.

www.afer.org 

Two top White House leaders have come out in support of marriage for gay and lesbian Americans. This Sunday on Meet the Press, Vice President Joe Biden said he supports marriage rights for gay and lesbian Americans. Then, this morning, Education Secretary expressed his support on MSBC’s Morning Joe.

AFER Board President Chad Griffin said that he hopes the Vice President’s comments will encourage other leaders to lend their support as well :

“I’m grateful that the vice president of the United States is now publically supporting marriage equality and I hope very soon the president and the rest of our leaders, Republicans and Democrats in Congress, will fall in line with the vice president.”

Photo by Obama for America on Flickr