SCOTUS Marriage Case Explained

In this exclusive audio broadcast Emmy Winner Charlotte Robinson Host of OUTTAKE VOICES™ participated in a conference call following the historic U.S. Supreme Court ruling that gay and lesbian couples in the United States, no matter where they live, have the same legal right to marry as heterosexual couples. The call was hosted by Janson Wu, Executive Director of Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) and Gary Buseck GLAD’s Legal Director who has been involved with GLAD in various capacities for more than 35 years, including serving as Executive Director from the fall of 1997 to January, 2004. As you know in 2003 Mary Bonauto GLAD’s Civil Rights Project Director won the ground-breaking Goodridge case making Massachusetts the first state in the U.S. where gay and lesbian couples could legally marry. GLAD also pioneered the legal strategy that brought down the Defense of Marriage Act. On April 28th Bonauto argued Question 1, as formulated by the Court: “Does the Fourteenth Amendment require a state to license a marriage between two people of the same sex?” Bonauto represented April DeBoer and Jayne Rowse of Michigan and spoke for them as well as for plaintiff Kentucky couples Tim Love and Lawrence Ysunza, and Maurice Blanchard and Dominique James and committed and loving couples nationwide. This resulted in the United States becoming the 20th country in the world where gay and lesbian couples can legally marry nationally.

Janson Wu who was present in the court during this historic ruling provides a personal and professional perspective of this case stating, “Arriving at this moment at this time was not inevitable. It happened now because people across the country – young and old, LGBT and straight, religious people and business people – stood up for fairness and their families and friends and worked diligently and strategically to include same-gender couples in marriage. This was a movement marked by hope, tenacity and smarts.” In this fascinating audio recording, Gary Buseck, GLAD's Legal Director, provides an insider analysis of the historic 103 page ruling that makes you truly understand how this decision was reached and the significance it has on the future of our LGBT community and of all Americans. He also addresses how the Supreme Court’s prior Hobby Lobby decision may come into play, which allows religious organizations to discriminate based on sexual orientation and gender.

Janson Wu is a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School. Wu has served as GLAD’s Executive Director since December 2014 following eight years as a staff attorney and a seven-month tenure as deputy director. Gary Buseck after serving as GLAD’s Executive Director from 1997 to 2004 has been setting legal strategies and supervising GLAD's team of attorneys. Before coming to GLAD, Gary spent twenty years in private practice and co-founded a Boston law firm focusing on the gay and lesbian community. He received a B.A., a Masters in Religious Education and a J.D. magna cum laude from Boston College.
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