Hundreds of the world’s largest and most powerful companies filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday urging the justices to legalize gay marriage across the country in a case that they will decide in June.
Google, Apple, Amazon, Facebook, Microsoft, Twitter, and Bank of America are among the 379 firms that signed the letter, filed Thursday by the law firm Morgan Lewis. The case before the Court that could lead to nationwide recognition of gay marriage is Obergefell v. Hodges.
The letter argues that even though most Americans live in jurisdictions where sex-sex marriage is permitted, the national legal landscape is “confused,” creating a “significant burden” on both employers and employees and “making it increasingly hard to conduct business.”
“State laws that prohibit or decline to recognize marriages between same-sex couples hamper employer efforts to recruit and retain the most talented workforce possible in those states,” the letter says.
“Our successes depend upon the welfare and morale of all employees, without distinction,” it continues. “The burden imposed by inconsistent and discriminatory state laws of having to administer complicated schemes to account for differential treatment of similarly situated employees breeds unnecessary confusion, tension, and diminished employee morale.”
Twitter, one of the most vocal companies on the subject of marriage equality, declared its support for a nationwide right to marry through its LGBTQA account @TwitterOpen.
https://twitter.com/TwitterOpen/status/573569358754000896
H/T The Verge | Photo via Hillary/Flickr (CC BY SA 2.0)
