At 10 a.m. on January 9, a three-judge panel from the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals will hear oral arguments in Campaign for Southern Equality v. Bryant, the case that struck down Mississippi’s ban on same-sex marriage in a November 25, 2014 ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Carlton W. Reeves. The same Fifth Circuit panel will also hear the De Leon and Robicheaux marriage equality cases from Texas and Louisiana, respectively, on the morning of January 9. Here’s what you need to know about the three cases.
At approximately 12:00 p.m., a joint press conference with attorneys and plaintiffs from all three cases will take place on the steps of the Fifth Circuit federal courthouse (John Minor Wisdom Court of Appeals Building, 600 Camp Street in New Orleans).
“We very much look forward to presenting our arguments to the judges on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. We are so honored to be representing our clients in this case and so pleased that the voices of gay of Mississippians will be heard,” says Roberta Kaplan, lead counsel in Campaign for Southern Equality v. Bryant.
Currently, 36 states allow same-sex couples to marry. Within the South, couples can marry in Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia.
Campaign for Southern Equality v. Bryant challenges the constitutionality of marriage laws in Mississippi that ban marriage between same-sex couples and deny recognition of same-sex marriages performed out-of-state. The lawsuit was filed on October 20, 2014, on behalf of two same-sex couples – Andrea Sanders and Rebecca (Becky) Bickett, and Jocelyn (Joce) Pritchett and Carla Webb – and the Campaign for Southern Equality, which represents its members across Mississippi.
“We are hopeful that the Fifth Circuit will find that LGBT Mississippi families should be able to conduct their lives knowing that a safety net of legal protections surrounds them,” says Rev. Jasmine Beach-Ferrara, executive director of the Campaign for Southern Equality. The Campaign for Southern Equality has been advocating for LGBT equality across Mississippi since 2012 and is conducting a public education campaign to accompany the case.
An estimated 3,484 same-sex couples live across Mississippi, with 26 percent of them raising children. The plaintiff couples are both parents to young children.
Lead counsel for the plaintiffs is Roberta Kaplan of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP. Plaintiffs are also represented by Robert McDuff of McDuff & Byrd, based in Jackson, and Dale Carpenter, a professor of civil rights and civil liberties law at the University of Minnesota Law School. Kaplan was lead counsel in United States v. Windsor, the landmark case that struck down sections of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and paved the way to marriage equality from coast to coast.
LGBT Life in Mississippi:
- An estimated 3,484 same-sex couples live in Mississippi according to 2010 Census Data;
- Mississippi has the highest rate nationally of LGBT couples raising children at 26 percent;
- LGBT people in Mississippi are more likely to live in poverty than heterosexual counterparts;
- Public support for marriage equality in Mississippi is growing. Among Mississippi residents under age 30, 58 percent support marriage equality according to a 2013 poll;
- Under current state laws, you can be fired simply for being gay in Mississippi.
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