WASHINGTON – In a brief filed today in the 10^th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, ten states argued that Utah’s ban on marriage for lesbian and gay couples is constitutional after a federal District Court judge ruled otherwise in December.  The states are Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Indiana, Idaho, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma and South Carolina.  Notably there were 16 states that signed on to the pro-Defense of Marriage Act and pro-Prop 8 briefs before the Supreme Court.  Those weighing in on marriage bans before the Supreme Court were also Georgia, Kansas, Michigan, North Dakota, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin; but Colorado and Nebraska did not.

Human Rights Campaign Legal Director Brian Moulton released the following statement:

“As the country moves toward allowing all loving lesbian and gay couples the ability to make lifelong commitments through marriage, it’s disappointing that these states would plant themselves so firmly on the wrong side of history.  As Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring so eloquently stated recently in refusing to defend his commonwealth’s ban in court, future generations will judge us by how we proceed with this issue.”

The Human Rights Campaign is America’s largest civil rights organization working to achieve lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality. By inspiring and engaging all Americans, HRC strives to end discrimination against LGBT citizens and realize a nation that achieves fundamental fairness and equality for all.

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