WASHINGTON — JACL has signed on to an amicus curiae brief in De Leon et al. v. Perry, a federal lawsuit pending in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals that challenges the ban on same-sex marriage and equivalent statutes in Texas.
The lead plaintiffs are U.S. Air Force veteran Cleopatra de Leon and her partner of over a decade, who were married in Massachusetts, as well as an unmarried gay couple, Marc Pharriss and Vic Holmes. They sued Texas Gov. Rick Perry in his official capacity.
The amicus brief claims that the Texas marriage ban is constitutionally invalid, as it is heavily based on a particular religious definition of marriage. It argues that there are many different definitions of marriage, and that the State of Texas must respect the separation between church and state mandated by the U.S. Constitution.
The brief further states that the invalidation of the marriage ban would not threaten religious liberty, but rather would enhance it to include definitions of religion beyond those of one religion.