Washington, DC – Following today’s Supreme Court oral arguments on marriage equality, Attorney General Karl A. Racine today said he was cautiously optimistic that the justices would rule state bans on same-sex marriage unconstitutional.

“I am hopeful that today marked another milestone in our nation’s long progress toward securing full liberty and equality for all of our citizens,” Attorney General Racine said. “As we argued in our brief in this case, it is time for the Supreme Court to ensure that same-sex couples legally married in the District enjoy the same rights, under law, as every other legally married couple no matter where in our great country they are. I’m proud that the District is one of the best jurisdictions in the country when it comes to protecting the rights of our LGBT residents – but LGBT Americans deserve to be treated with equal justice and equal dignity everywhere in the United States.”

Earlier this year, Attorney General Racine joined a coalition of states in a friend-of-the-court brief (release here: http://oag.dc.gov/release/attorney-general-racine-urges-supreme-court-uphold-right-marry-nationwide) urging the justices to legalize full marriage equality nationwide. The brief argues that the continued refusal by some states to license or recognize marriages between gay and lesbian couples inflicts widespread harm on these couples and their families, including those living in the District and other states with full marriage equality. Major life decisions made by married same-sex couples – including decisions about education, employment and residency – are affected by the lack of legal recognition of their marriages in some states. Many couples refuse to move to or simply try to avoid non-recognition states whenever possible.

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