A flood of briefs have been filed with the U.S. Supreme Court supporting marriage equality. The nation’s highest court is set to hear arguments on what could be a landmark civil rights decision in April.
Among the briefs is one filed by more than 200 mayors across the country. Forty cities also signed onto the brief, organized by Freedom to Marry and its Mayors for the Freedom to Marry coalition.
Los Angeles’ city attorney authored the brief, filed at the Supreme Court on March 6.
“Municipalities, as the level of government most closely connected to the community they serve, bear a great burden when a target sector of their populace is denied the right to marry,” the brief reads in part. “When the freedom to marry is denied, municipalities are the first level of government to suffer the impact.”
Carolinas mayors signing onto the brief include: Durham’s William Bell, Chapel Hill’s Mark Kleinschmidt, Carrboro’s Lydia Lavelle, Asheville’s Esther Manheimer, Creedmoor’s Darryl Moss, Hillsborough’s Tom Stevens and Sarah Sherwood, mayor of Abbeville, S.C.
Additionally, the towns of Carrboro and Chapel Hill also signed the brief.
Another brief filed with the court includes some 379 companies supporting a decision in favor of marriage equality. Big name companies like Google, Facebook, Apple, Coca-Cola and Microsoft signed onto that brief, along with North Carolina brands like Bank of America, Replacements, Ltd., and Wells Fargo, among others. : :
— Matt Comer
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