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For Immediate Release
March, 11 2015, 09:00am EDT
Contact:
Angela Dallara | angela@freedomtomarry.org | 646.430.3925
Washington Post Ad Showcases Broad Business Support for the Freedom to Marry Nationwide
NEW YORK, NY
Freedom to Marry today ran a full-page ad in the Washington Post highlighting the nearly 400 businesses that submitted a friend-of-the-court-brief on Friday in support of the freedom to marry for same-sex couples. Of the 379 businesses on the brief, more than half - 196 - had not previously signed onto friend-of-the-court briefs supporting marriage.
The ad appears here: https://www.freedomtomarry.org/page/-/files/pdfs/WashingtonPostAd.pdf
"Marriage discrimination not only harms America's families, but America's businesses, imposing an unwieldy, expensive, and unnecessary burden on companies, employees, and the economy," said Evan Wolfson, president of Freedom to Marry. "Smart employers know that respecting same-sex couples' freedom to marry is good for business, good for employees, and good for America. Freedom to Marry is proud of our part in securing business signatories on this friend-of-the-court brief, and of our ongoing role in getting businesses on the right side of history. We commend the nearly 400 American businesses who have joined us in declaring that it's time for the Supreme Court to finish the job and affirm the freedom to marry nationwide."
Notable new signers on the brief include: DIRECTV, Visa Inc., Wells Fargo, The Coca-Cola Company, General Mills, St. Jude Medical, Inc., Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase, Estee Lauder, American Apparel, American Airlines, PepsiCo, the San Francisco Giants, the New England Patriots, and the Tampa Bay Rays.
Last year, Freedom to Marry and Out & Equal Workplace Advocates released a report by Marsh & McLennan calculating that the cost of the remaining patchwork of marriage laws on business in the private sector at the time totaled $1.3 billion every year.
Freedom to Marry submitted its own friend-of-the-court brief, while dedicating its team of organizers to helping secure friends of the court, including the nearly 400 business signers, more than 200 first responders, nearly 2000 faith leaders from all 50 states, 226 mayors through its Mayors for the Freedom to Marry program, and 35 young Republican operatives through its Young Conservatives for the Freedom to Marry campaign who joined the Republican brief. Counsel of record on Freedom to Marry's amicus brief is former U.S. Solicitor General Walter Dellinger of O'Melveny & Myers. The business amicus was authored by Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP.
Freedom to Marry is the gay and non-gay partnership working to win marriage equality nationwide. Headed by Evan Wolfson, one of America's leading civil rights advocates and lawyers, Freedom to Marry brings new resources and a renewed context of urgency and opportunity to this social justice movement.
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