In an effort to defend his state's ban on same-sex marriage, Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine told the Supreme Court that the law should remain intact because there is a decline in the discrimination against gays and lesbians.
"Gays and lesbians can gain the attention of lawmakers now more than ever, and any discrimination against them has been on a steady decline," DeWine wrote
in his brief to the Supreme Court on Friday.
In an attempt to make a case for why gays and lesbians should not be considered a "protected-class," he explains that "protected-class status is reserved for those 'relegated to such a position of political powerlessness,'" which he says is defined by not having the "'ability to attract the attention of the lawmakers.'"
The Ohio Republican cited the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, which has written that "even 'the most modest powers of observation' . . . show that political invisibility is not an issue today."
DeWine contends that the appeals by those who are objecting to Ohio's definition of marriage as being between one man and one woman is an illustration that "gays and lesbians have 'attract[ed] the attention of the lawmakers" at every level of government," since they received an amicus brief filed on their behalf from the executive branch as well as "some 167 Representatives and 44 Senators," in addition to state and city officials.
The Supreme Court
is also examining same-sex marriage bans in Kentucky, Michigan, and Tennessee.
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