General
USCCB's Amici Curiae Brief in Lawson v. Kelly (2015)
USCCB's Amici Curiae Brief in Lawson v. Kelly, February 23, 2015
Statement of the Issue: Does the Fourteenth Amendment require the State of Missouri to license or recognize same-sex marriage?
The voices of millions of Americans are represented in the broad cross-section of faith communities that join this brief. Our theological perspectives, though often differing, converge on a critical point: that marriage between a man and a woman is vital to the welfare of children, families, and society. Faith communities like ours are among the essential pillars of this Nation’s marriage culture. With our teachings, traditions, and ministries, we sustain and nourish both individual marriages and a culture that makes enduring marriages possible. Our practical experience in this area is unequaled. In millions of ministry settings each day we see the benefits that married mother father parenting brings to children. And we deal daily with the devastating effects of out-of-wedlock births, failed marriages, and the general decline of the marriage institution.
We therefore seek to be heard in the democratic and judicial forums where the fate of that foundational institution will be decided. We urge this Court to allow the marriage debate to be resolved through the democratic process, where the views of all citizens can be considered. Contrary to arguments by some advocates of same-sex marriage, people of faith and their religious organizations, no less than others, have “a fundamental right . . . to speak and debate and learn and then, as a matter of political will, to act through a lawful electoral process.”