The American Civil Liberties Union of West Virginia applauds the Supreme Court of the United States for ruling on the side of love. In its historic decision 5-4 decision with Kennedy writing for the majority, the Court ruled to grant marriage equality for same-sex couples seeking the right to obtain marriage licenses and be legally recognized in all 50 states.
“Today, the Supreme Court issued a sweeping ruling in favor of marriage, granting marriage equality in all fifty states,” says Jennifer Meinig, ACLU of WV Executive Director. “The decision is one of the most important civil rights cases of our time.”
The ACLU was co-counsel in the Virginia marriage case, Bostic, in which the Fourth Circuit’s ruled that Virginia’s marriage ban was illegal. That case paved the way for other states in the Fourth Circuit – including West Virginia – to legalize same-sex marriages. In today’s Supreme Court ruling, the ACLU was counsel in the Ohio and Kentucky cases.
“Prior to today’s decision, there was a patchwork of relationship protections across the country,” says Meinig. “The Supreme Court, in a watershed decision, found that the fundamental liberty and equality protections of our federal Constitution extended to the freedom to marry. While this is an incredible, history-changing moment for our country, our work is far from over. We will continue to fight discrimination against LGBTQ kids in schools and work toward employment and housing protections for LGBTQ people across West Virginia.”
The ACLU has worked for the rights of LGBTQ people since 1936 when it brought its first gay rights case. The organization filed the first freedom-to-marry lawsuit for same-sex couples in 1970 represented Edie Windsor in her successful challenge to the federal Defense of Marriage Act in June 2013, and filed sixteen federal marriage lawsuits on behalf of same-sex couples since then.
In celebration of this historic moment, join us at our Decision Day pop-up parties happening across West Virginia and toast equality from 5-7pm. Can't make it to one of our pop-up parties? No worries! Celebrate on your own and send us your photos via social media using #ToastingEqualityWV.
