Lawyers for Civil Rights
Declaration of Support for Legal Marriage for Same-sex Couples

As attorneys, we are deeply committed to civil and constitutional rights for all citizens. We agree with the United States Supreme Court's opinion in Loving v. Virginia that "The freedom to marry has long been recognized as one of the vital personal rights essential to the orderly pursuit of happiness by free [people]."

We applaud the Vermont Legislature for passing a civil union law, providing greater legal protections for gay and lesbian couples and serving as a bridge to genuine equality. But civil union is not a substitute for legal marriage. The status of legal marriage is itself a fundamental protection, representing the ultimate expression of love and commitment between two people in universally-understood terms. Civil union is a novel legal status that exists in only a handful of states. It cannot serve as a gateway to critical federal legal protections, and its portability from state to state has been questioned. Moreover, laws that divide citizens and families, separating those formed by same-sex couples from those formed by heterosexual couples, reflect a message of exclusion that has no place in our nation.

We strongly affirm the First Amendment's protection of religious freedom. No clergy person or community of faith can or should be compelled to solemnize a marriage of any sort in violation of their own religious beliefs. Ensuring equality in the civil marriage laws will not, and should not, change that fact.

Because marriage is a basic human right and an individual choice, we support full civil marriage for same-gender couples.