In re Marriage CasesThe Becket Fund for Religious Liberty filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court of California in the case of In re Marriage Cases, which asks whether statutory exclusion of same-sex couples from full enjoyment of marriage rights is a violation of the California Constitution. The Becket Fund's brief explains how the associational rights of religious institutions are necessarily affected by a change in the legal definition of marriage. You can read the brief in its entirety by clicking on this link.
The brief discusses how religious institutions that oppose same-sex unions would be affected in California if same-sex marriage became the law. It asks whether a religious marital counseling program would have to extend services to same-sex couples; whether a religious employer would have to extend spousal insurance benefits to same-sex spouses; or whether a religious university would have to extend subsidized marital housing to same-sex couples.
The brief states that “changing the legal definition of ‘marriage’ to include same-sex couples will create an unprecedented level of legal conflict under the Free Speech and Religion Clauses of the First Amendment.
The Becket Fund has also filed amicus curiae briefs asking courts to consider these implications in same-sex marriage cases in Iowa, Maryland, Connecticut, and Rhode Island.
In December 2005, the Becket Fund sponsored a conference on same-sex marriage and religious liberty. Some of the country’s leading First Amendment scholars—who represent a wide range of religious and political views, including on same-sex marriage—were invited to assess the religious freedom impacts of legalized same-sex marriage. All of the experts at the conference recognized that legalized same-sex marriage would generate significant religious freedom disputes, but they differed on who should win those disputes and why. Read more about the conference here and here. There was a decision in the california case this summer. Resources & Documents
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