Legal Documents

The New York County Lawyers' Association and the National Black Justice Coalition, a civil rights organization of black lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people and allies dedicated to fostering equality, demonstrate that the same unconstitutional rationalizations that were used to justify the prohibition against interracial marriage are being used today to preclude same-sex couples from marrying. Viewed against this historical background, amici submit that the prohibition on civil marriage between same-sex couples must be recognized as unconstitutional.

The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Law Association of Greater New York, a statewide bar association formed to facilitate and improve the administration of justice for the LGBT community, explain that same-sex couples have a fundamental right to marry, which the State cannot interfere with absent compelling reasons ﾗ and none exists here.

Prominent bar groups in New York, including the Association of the Bar of the City of New York and the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, explain the many ways in which same-sex couples and their children are harmed when they are denied the protections of marriage.