2015, March 6: American Historical Association, Brief of Historians of Marriage as Amici Curiae

View a pdf of the document here. Below is a table of contents for reference. 

 

QUESTIONS PRESENTED

1) Does the Fourteenth Amendment require a state to license a marriage between two people of the same sex?

2) Does the Fourteenth Amendment require a state to recognize a marriage between two people of the same sex when their marriage was lawfully licensed and performed out-of-state?

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TABLE OF CONTENTS QUESTIONS PRESENTED  page i

INTEREST OF AMICI CURIAE  page 1

INTRODUCTION AND SUMMARY OF ARGUMENT page 4

ARGUMENT  page 6 I.

MARRIAGE HAS SERVED MULTIPLE PURPOSES BEYOND PROCREATION
THROUGHOUT AMERICAN HISTORY page 6 A.

Marriage Historically Has Served Important Political And Economic Purposes  page  7 1.

Marriage developed in relation to governance  page 7 2.

Marriage has created public order and economic benefits  page 10 B.

Marriage Has Always Been About More Than Childbearing  page 11 1.

Neither eligibility for marriage nor sexual intimacy within marriage
has turned on the ability to procreate  page 12 2.

Non-biological children have long been integral to the American family  page 14 II.

MARRIAGE HAS CHANGED TO REJECT DISCRIMINATORY RULES
AND RESTRICTIONS  page 16 A.

Marriage Laws Have Changed To Reflect
Changing Understandings Of Spouses’ Respective Roles and Rights  page 16 iii

B. Race-Based Restrictions On Marriage Eligibility Have Been Eliminated  page 19 C.

Courts Have Played An Instrumental Role In Changes To Marriage Laws  page 22

CONCLUSION  page 24

APPENDIX LIST OF AMICI CURIAE HISTORIANS OF MARRIAGE  page 1a

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Source:
Accessed April 28, 2015 from:
http://www.historians.org/Documents/AHA%20Letters/Amici%20Curiae%20on%20Same-Sex%20Marriage%202015.03.06.pdf