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Sunday, March 8, 2015

379 CORPORATIONS, 226 MAYORS, 2000+ CLERGY ASK SUPREME COURT TO IMPOSE GAY "MARRIAGE" ON AMERICA



corp support

SEE: http://the-trumpet-online.com/corporations-ask-supreme-court-impose-gay-marriage-country/; republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, and research purposes:

Some of America’s largest corporations are asking are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to impose same-sex marriage on the county.

In an friend-of-the-court brief more than 300 companies, including Apple, Twitter, Pfizer, Pepsico, Nike, Miller, Microsoft, and AT&T, are telling the Court that the different marriage laws around the country make it harder for them to do business and are a challenge to their diversity programs. In fact, most of the companies arguments to the Court are based on the importance and business-value of “diversity.”
The brief asserts: “Some of the states in which amici do business make marriage equally available to all of our employees and colleagues; others prohibit marriages between couples of the same sex and refuse to recognize existing same-sex marriages. This dual regime burdens amici. It creates legal uncertainty and imposes unnecessary costs and administrative complexities on employers, and requires differential employer treatment of employees who are similarly situated save for the state where they reside.”
The companies claim that the different laws hamper economic growth and “impedes innovation by forcing businesses to work harder, and invest more to achieve the same return on our investments.” They say they must create “complex administrative systems” because gays can marry in some states and not in others.
They also claim, “Inclusive companies are more open to new ideas and opportunities, while less prone to overconfidence when approaching challenges” and are more profitable.
In an exclusive interview with Breitbart News, the president of the National Organization for Marriage says, “These corporations have sold out millions of their own consumers and employees that know the truth that marriage is the union of a man and a woman.”
Brian Brown is also worried about employees of these corporations who may not be supportive of same-sex marriage. He says they may be “punished and harassed by their own companies for standing for this truth.” For example, Brendan Eich was forced out as CEO of Mozilla Firefox for opposing same-sex marriage.
Brown challenges the notion that gay marriage is needed for economic growth. “The truth is that the best economic environments in the country are in states that have protected marriage. This brief is the latest example of the elites force feeding a false narrative on this country.”
Brown was not the only traditional marriage supporter angered by the amicus brief. A number of others spoke to Breitbart News.
Austin Rimrocks of Alliance Defending Freedom said: “The free market works. With so many corporations free to make this choice, and so doing, why do we need SCOTUS to impose it on everyone? The states, like these corporations, should remain free to choose.”
Peter Sprigg of the Family Research Council adds: “These companies are acting irrationally. They are pandering to the 1.6% of the population that is homosexual while alienating the 61% who say they do not want the court to impose a redefinition of marriage on all fifty states. Corporations should remain neutral in the culture wars.”
Author and activist Janice Shaw Crouse told Breitbart News: “Corporations should stick to selling products, not ideologies.”
The companies are asking the Supreme Court to overrule their customers in 34 states who’ve voted, in many cases overwhelmingly, to protect traditional marriage in their constitutions.
Only four states have seen their citizens vote in favor of same-sex marriage, while eight state legislatures have voted for it. Most of the 34 state laws protecting traditional marriage have been overturned by various courts and a showdown is coming at the Supreme Court this April.
_______________________________________________________

Diverse groups tell Supreme Court they support same-sex marriage:

EXCERPT: "The friend of the court briefs were filed on behalf of more than 300 Republicans, 379 American companies, 226 mayors, and nearly 2,000 clergy members who say the high court should rule that gay men and lesbians have a right to marry anywhere in the United StatesThe filings are among more than 70 friend of the court briefs being submitted in support of same-sex couples in Ohio, Michigan, Tennessee, and Kentucky. The couples are challenging measures that restrict marriage in those states to a union of one man and one woman."
____________________________________________________

Mehlman: “Letting two adults who love each other get married 
strengthens and promotes families.”
Ken Mehlman and Chelsea Clinton at the New York 
launch of Friendfactor 
at Lavo on May 3, 2011 in New York City
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ken_mehlman/8510229227/

Trans Forming Media TV: Chelsea Clinton speaks @ Friendfactor NY launch for LGBT equality:
Uploaded on May 4, 2011
Chelsea Clinton speaks at the NY launch of Friendfactor in support of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTTI) human rights. Clinton then introduces Steven M. Cohen, Secretary to the New York Governor. The launch event was held at Lavo, a club in Manhattan. Celebrities, politicians, human rights activists, people of the LGBTTI coalition and allies all came out to support the cause.


Chelsea Clinton at the HRC Time To THRIVE Conference:
(Human Rights Commission is Totally Pro LGBTQ):
Published on Feb 16, 2014
Clinton Foundation Vice Chair Chelsea Clinton speaks about the importance of supporting LGBTQ youth at the inaugural Human Rights Campaign Foundation Time to THRIVE Conference. View more videos from the conference here:https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list...


KENNETH B. MEHLMAN CHIEF PETITIONER 
ON AMICI BRIEF TO SUPREME COURT
Kenneth Brian "Ken" Mehlman is an American businessman, attorney, and political figure who held several national posts in the Republican Party and the George W. Bush Administration. Mehlman managed Bush's 2004 re-election campaign and subsequently chaired the Republican National Committee from 2005–07. In 2010, Mehlman came out as gay, making him one of the few prominent openly gay figures in the Republican Party. Mehlman came out in an interview with journalist Marc Ambinder, who noted that Mehlman's roles with the RNC and the Bush campaign "coincided with the Republican Party's attempts to exploit anti-gay prejudices and cement the allegiance of social conservatives". Since coming out, Mehlman has advocated for the recognition of same-sex marriage.
SEE: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_Mehlman
VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_P8xWq7-6E

Ken Mehlman: Talking To Republicans About Marriage Equality:

MEHLMAN'S "LEGAL" (& POLITICAL) FIX:
KEEP IT SIMPLE: JUST LEAVE GOD'S LAW & NATURAL LAW 
OUT OF THE DEFINITION OF MARRIAGE 
AND IT'S "A WIN/WIN PROPOSITION":

Published on Jul 22, 2013

Ken Mehlman is the Global Head of Public Affairs at KKR. In late 2012, he launched Project Right Side, which was created to convince more conservatives to support marriage equality. He serves on the board of the American Foundation for Equal Rights, and is also a trustee of M. Sinai Hospital of New York, Franklin & Marshall College, and the American Enterprise Institute's National Council.

Transcript:

What is the single best way to get Republicans to support marriage equality?
Ken Mehlman: It's interesting. As I've thought about this and as I've learned from a lot of people who have worked on this for many years and who are professionals at it. I really think it's best to think about this not in terms of Republicans or Democrats or Independents, but what's the best way for people to become supportive of marriage equality. In my experience at least, the best way is to have a conversation with them. The best way and the most important way is for them to know someone in their lives, whether it's a friend or a relative who happens to be gay. And to have that person make the case and explain why they think that civil marriage available under the law ought to be a right, and ought to be something that's available to them. I have found that to be the best and most effective way. Obviously, it's important I think it's important to make the case from all ideological perspectives, and as we'll talk about in this interview, I've tried to explain why as a conservative, as someone who believes freedom, as someone who believes in family values, or as someone who believes in the golden rule, civil marriage makes sense.
What do you think is the most reasonable case against gay marriage that is made by its opponents?
Ken Mehlman: I've had a lot of conversations with friends who I have a lot of respect for who don't agree with me on the issue. What I hear from them are a couple of things.
First, sometimes folks talk about the importance of protecting religious freedom and the sacrament of marriage, and I think that it's very important from my perspective and those of us who believe both in the right to marriage but also in religious freedom, to be clear that we're talking about civil marriage. We're talking about the government, the state simply providing people with a license for civil marriage. It's up to each religious tradition to decide how to define it. The home I was raised in, my parents were a member of a Jewish congregation and our synagogue was a conservative synagogue. Conservative Judaism recognizes marriage equality, as does Reform Judaism. Other branches of Judaism might not, and everyone ought to have that right. There's room enough in society for all of us to have different views on this, but one thing is clear, the law should treat everyone the same.
Secondly, you sometimes hear people talk about tradition. They say that they were raised with marriage as between a man and a woman. The President said that, for example in explaining his evolution. To those people, what I try to do is ask them what they think marriage is really about. And to me, what it's about is two individuals who love each other, who want to spend their lives committing to each other. So that they take care of each other when they're sick, or when they're old, and so that the people in their world or community share that commitment and help them out through tough times. I think that goal is something that ought to be available to people whether they're straight or gay. And for society, if you believe as I do in family values, if you believe in shared commitment and responsibility. If you believe that our society is better off when that happens, more stable, then it seems to me that allowing civil marriage to both gay and straight couples makes a whole lot of sense, and that's how you answer that particular concern.
______________________________________________________

Top Republicans say support for gay marriage 

is 'conservative'

EXCERPT: "Meanwhile, Mehlman and his confederates insist they are simply supporting these same conservative values in calling for the legalization of gay marriage. "It is precisely because marriage is so important in producing and protecting strong and stable family structures," they write, "that amici do not agree that the government can rationally promote the goal of strengthening families by denying civil marriage to same-sex couples.""
__________________________________________________________

Twitter Signs on to Amicus Brief Supporting Same-sex Marriage:
Published on Mar 6, 2015
A group of 379 companies have joined together on an amicus brief filed to the Supreme Court in favor of same-sex marriage.
Facebook, Twitter, Bank of America, Coca-Cola, and the New England Patriots are among the companies listed on the petition, written by lawyers at the Morgan Lewis law firm, asking the court to overturn state bans on same-sex marriage. The brief, filed Thursday, goes on to argue that the companies’ recruitment is hampered by same-sex marriage bans.

http://www.politico.com/story/2015/03...


CVS, Patriots joining fight for same-sex marriage:

Nearly 2,000 Religious Leaders Sign Historic Amicus Brief:

SCOTUSFaithLeadersBriefSocial
EXCERPT:

"The Religious Institute partnered with Freedom to Marry to engage religious leaders on this historic case, and our joint efforts garnered nearly 2,000 signatures from religious leaders across faith traditions, geographic locations, and political opinions. The faith community boldly joined together in this historic brief. The brief also draws from the Religious Institute’s Open Letter on Marriage Equality and Religious Declaration on Sexual Morality, Justice, and Healing.
The brief recognizes that many religious communities have evolved to embrace the freedom to marry for same sex couples and that religious freedom requires that no one particular religious perspective on marriage be privileged in the civil definition of marriage"
_______________________________________________________
LIST OF AMICI SIGNATORIES TO DATE:
Kenneth B. Mehlman, Chairman, Republican National Committee, 2005-2007
Tim Adams, Undersecretary of the Treasury for International Affairs, 2005-2007
Cliff S. Asness, Businessman, Philanthropist, and Author
David D. Aufhauser, General Counsel, Department of the Treasury, 2001-2003
Charles Bass, Member of Congress, 1995-2007 and 2011-2013
John B. Bellinger III, Legal Adviser to the Department of State, 2005-2009
Katie Biber, General Counsel, Romney for President, 2007-2008 and 2011-2012
Mary Bono Mack, Member of Congress, 1998-2013
William A. Burck, Deputy Staff Secretary, Special Counsel, and Deputy Counsel to the President, 2005- 2009
Alex Castellanos, Republican Media Advisor
Paul Cellucci, Governor of Massachusetts, 1997-2001, and Ambassador to Canada, 2001-2005
David C. Chavern, Business Association Executive
Mary Cheney, Director of Vice Presidential Operations, Bush-Cheney 2004, 2003-2004
Thomas J. Christensen, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, 2006-2008
Jim Cicconi, Assistant to the President and Deputy to the Chief of Staff, 1989-1990
James B. Comey, U.S. Deputy Attorney General, 2003- 2005
Jeff Cook-McCormac, Senior Advisor, American Unity PAC
R. Clarke Cooper, U.S. Alternative Representative, United Nations Security Council, 2007-2009
Julie Cram, Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of the White House Office of Public Liaison, 2007-2009
S.E. Cupp, Author and Political Commentator
Michele Davis, Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs and Director of Policy Planning, Department of the Treasury, 2006-2009
Tyler Deaton, Secretary, New Hampshire Young Republicans, 2011-Present
Alicia Davis Downs, Associate Political Director, White House, 2001-2003
Kenneth M. Duberstein, White House Chief of Staff and Assistant to the President, 1981-1984 and 1987- 1989
Janet Duprey, New York State Assemblywoman, 2007-Present
Clint Eastwood, Producer, Director, Actor, and Mayor of Carmel, California, 1986-1988
Christian J. Edwards, Special Assistant to the President and Director of Press Advance, 2005-2007
Lew Eisenberg, Finance Chairman, Republican National Committee, 2002-2004
Mark J. Ellis, State Chairman, Maine Republican Party, 2005-2006 and 2007-2009
Elizabeth Noyer Feld, Public Affairs Specialist, White House Office of Management and Budget, 1984-1987
Charles Freeman, Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for China Affairs, 2002-2005
David Frum, Author and Special Assistant to the President, 2001-2002
Reed Galen, Director of Scheduling and Advance, Bush-Cheney 2004, 2003-2004
Richard Galen, Communications Director, Speaker's Political Office, 1996-1997
Mark Gerson, Chairman, Gerson Lehrman Group and Author of The Neoconservative Vision: From the Cold War to the Culture Wars and In the Classroom: Dispatches from an Inner-City School that Works
Benjamin Ginsberg, National Counsel, Bush-Cheney 2000 and 2004
Josh Ginsberg, National Field Director, Romney for President, 2007-2008
Juleanna Glover, Press Secretary to the Vice President, 2001-2002
John Goodwin, Chief of Staff to Raul Labrador, Member of Congress, 2011-2013
Adrian Gray, Director of Strategy, Republican National Committee, 2005-2007
Richard Grenell, Spokesman, U.S. Ambassadors to the United Nations, 2001-2008
Mark Grisanti, New York State Senator, 2011- Present
Patrick Guerriero, Mayor of Melrose, Massachusetts, and Member of Massachusetts House of Representatives, 1993-2001
Carlos Gutierrez, Secretary of Commerce, 2005-2009
Stephen Hadley, Assistant to the President and National Security Advisor, 2005-2009
Richard L. Hanna, Member of Congress, 2011-Present
Jill Hazelbaker, Communications Director, John McCain for President, 2007-2008
Israel Hernandez, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for International Trade, 2005-2009
Douglas Holtz-Eakin, Director, Congressional Budget Office, 2003-2005
Margaret Hoover, Advisor to the Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security, 2005-2006
Michael Huffington, Member of Congress, 1993-1995
Jon Huntsman, Governor of Utah, 2005-2009, and Ambassador to China, 2009-2011
David A. Javdan, General Counsel, U.S. Small Business Administration, 2002-2006
Reuben Jeffery, Undersecretary of State for Economic, Energy, and Agricultural Affairs, 2007-2009
Greg Jenkins, Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of Presidential Advance, 2003-2004
Coddy Johnson, National Field Director, Bush-Cheney 2004, 2003-2004
Gary Johnson, Governor of New Mexico, 1995-2003, and Libertarian Party Nominee for President, 2012
Nancy L. Johnson, Member of Congress, 1983-2007
Robert Kabel, Special Assistant to the President for Legislative Affairs, 1982-1985
Neel Kashkari, Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, 2008-2009
Theodore W. Kassinger, Deputy Secretary of Commerce, 2004-2005
Jonathan Kislak, Deputy Undersecretary of Agriculture for Small Community and Rural Development, 1989-1991
David Kochel, Senior Iowa Advisor, Mitt Romney for President, 2007-2008 and 2011-2012
James Kolbe, Member of Congress, 1985-2007
Cyrus Krohn, eCampaign Director, Republican National Committee, 2007-2009
Jeffrey Kupfer, Chief of Staff and Acting Deputy Secretary, Department of Energy, 2006-2009
Ed Kutler, Assistant to the Speaker of the House, 1995-1997
Kathryn Lehman, Chief of Staff, House Republican Conference, 2003-2005
Thomas A. Little, Vermont State Representative, 1992-2002 and Chairman of the Vermont House Judiciary Committee, 1999-2002
Daniel S. Loeb, Businessman and Philanthropist
Alex Lundry, Director of Data Science, Romney for President, 2012
N. Greg Mankiw, Chairman, Council of Economic Advisers, 2003-2005
Catherine Martin, Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy Communications Director for Policy and Planning, 2005-2007
Kevin Martin, Chairman, Federal Communications Commission, 2005-2009
David McCormick, Undersecretary of the Treasury for International Affairs, 2007-2009
Mark McKinnon, Republican Media Advisor
Aaron McLear, Press Secretary to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, 2007-2011
Bruce P. Mehlman, Assistant Secretary of Commerce, 2001-2003
Susan Molinari, Member of Congress, 1990-1997
Connie Morella, Member of Congress, 1987-2003, and U.S. Ambassador to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, 2003-2007
Michael E. Murphy, Republican Political Consultant
Beth Myers, Romney for President Campaign Manager, 2007-2008 and Senior Advisor, 2011-2012
Michael Napolitano, White House Office of Political Affairs, 2001-2003
Ana Navarro, National Hispanic Co-Chair, John McCain for President, 2008
Susan Neely, Special Assistant to the President, 2001- 2002
Noam Neusner, Special Assistant to the President for Economic Speechwriting, 2002-2005
B.J. Nikkel, Colorado State Representative and Majority Whip, 2009-2012, and District Director for Marilyn Musgrave, Member of Congress, 2002-2006
Meghan O'Sullivan, Deputy National Security Advisor for Iraq and Afghanistan, 2005-2007
Richard Painter, Associate Counsel to the President, 2005-2007
Ruth Ann Petroff, Wyoming State Representative, 2011-Present
Nancy Pfotenhauer, Regulatory Advisor, Romney for President, 2008, and Economist, Presidential Transition Team, 1988
Gregg Pitts, Director, White House Travel Office, 2006-2009
J. Stanley Pottinger, Assistant U.S. Attorney General, Civil Rights Division, 1973-1977
Michael Powell, Chairman, Federal Communications Commission, 2001-2005
Larry Pressler, U.S. Senator from South Dakota, 1979-1997, and Member of Congress, 1975-1979
Deborah Pryce, Member of Congress, 1993-2009
John Reagan, New Hampshire State Senator, 2012- Present Luis Reyes, Special Assistant to the President and Deputy Assistant to the President, 2006-2009
Tom Ridge, Governor of Pennsylvania, 1995-2001, and Secretary of Homeland Security, 2003-2005
Mark A. Robbins, General Counsel, U.S. Office of Personnel Management, 2001-2006
Kelley Robertson, Chief of Staff, Republican National Committee, 2005-2007
Brian Roehrkasse, Director of Public Affairs, Department of Justice, 2007-2009
Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Member of Congress, 1989- Present
Harvey S. Rosen, Chairman and Member, Council of Economic Advisers, 2003-2005
Lee Rudofsky, Deputy General Counsel, Romney for President, 2012
Patrick Ruffini, eCampaign Director, Republican National Committee, 2005-2007
Corry Schiermeyer, Director for Global Communications, National Security Council, 2005-2007
Steve Schmidt, Deputy Assistant to the President and Counselor to the Vice President, 2004-2006, and Senior Advisor, John McCain for President, 2008
Adam Schroadter, New Hampshire State Representative, 2010-Present
Christopher Shays, Member of Congress, 1987-2009
Faryar Shirzad, Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Advisor for International Economic Affairs, 2004-2006
Ken Spain, Communications Director, National Republican Congressional Committee, 2009-2010
Robert Steel, Undersecretary of the Treasury for Domestic Finance, 2006-2008
Nancy Stiles, New Hampshire State Senator, 2010- Present
David Stockman, Director, Office of Management and Budget, 1981-1985
Jane Swift, Governor of Massachusetts, 2001-2003
Richard Tisei, Massachusetts State Senator 1991-2011, and Senate Minority Leader 2007-2011
Michael E. Toner, Chairman and Commissioner, Federal Election Commission, 2002-2007
Frances Fragos Townsend, Homeland Security Advisor to the President, 2004-2008
Michael Turk, eCampaign Director for Bush-Cheney 2004, 2003-2004
John Ullyot, Communications Director, U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee, 2003-2007
Sally A. Vastola, Executive Director, National Republican Congressional Committee, 2003-2006
Jacob P. Wagner, Chairman, New Hampshire Federation of College Republicans, 2012-Present
Mark Wallace, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Representative for UN Management and Reform, 2006-2008
Nicolle Wallace, Assistant to the President and White House Communications Director, 2005-2008
William F. Weld, Governor of Massachusetts, 1991- 1997, and Assistant U.S. Attorney General, Criminal Division, 1986-1988
Christine Todd Whitman, Governor of New Jersey, 1994-2001, and Administrator of the EPA, 2001-2003
Meg Whitman, Republican Nominee for Governor of California, 2010
Robert Wickers, Republican Political Consultant Paul
Wolfowitz, Deputy Secretary of Defense, 2001- 2005, and President of the World Bank Group, 2005- 2007
Dan Zwonitzer, Wyoming State Representative, 2005- present