Conservative leaders file brief in support of SCOTUS Prop 8 repeal

Via press release: This week, more than 80 social and political conservatives, moderates, and libertarians from diverse religious, racial, regional, and philosophical backgrounds will file an amicus curiae, or “friend of the Court,” brief with the United States Supreme Court in support of the Plaintiffs challenging California’s Proposition 8 in Hollingsworth v. Perry.

Those currently listed as signatories to the brief include Mary Bono Mack, Alex Castellanos, James B. Comey, Gary Johnson, Stephen Hadley, Jon Huntsman, James Kolbe, Ken Mehlman, Steve Schmidt, William F. Weld, Christine Todd Whitman, and Meg Whitman.

Enacted in November 2008, Proposition 8 eliminated the fundamental freedom of gay and lesbian Californians to marry.

The American Foundation for Equal Rights (AFER) is the sole sponsor of Hollingsworth v. Perry, the federal constitutional challenge to Proposition 8.

“The support for marriage equality demonstrated by this amicus brief represents a microcosm of what we see happening all across the country," said AFER executive director Adam Umhoefer. “Americans are united behind the concepts of freedom, dignity and strong families. Since the inception of our case, AFER has worked to strip the partisan veil that had existed for too long around marriage equality. The conservative movement toward the freedom to marry is what we like to call the ‘Ted Olson effect.’ We value the support of our conservative colleagues and welcome their voices to the growing majority of Americans who stand for marriage equality.”

Building bi-partisan support has been part of AFER's mission ever since the filing of its federal constitutional challenge to overturn Proposition 8. AFER assembled a bi-partisan legal team led by Theodore B. Olson, Solicitor General of the United States during the first term of President George W. Bush, and renowned litigator David Boies to demonstrate that Proposition 8 violates the United States Constitution by denying millions of people their fundamental right to marry and their right to equal protection of the laws.

While the list of amici continues to grow, the current list includes:

• Ken Mehlman, Chairman, Republican National Committee, 2005-2007
• Tim Adams, Undersecretary of the Treasury for International Affairs, 2005-2007
• David D. Aufhauser, General Counsel, Department of Treasury, 2001-2003
• Cliff S. Asness, Businessman, Philanthropist, and Author
• John B. Bellinger III, Legal Adviser to the Department of State, 2005-2009
• Katie Biber, General Counsel, Romney for President, 2007-2008 and 2011-2012
• Mary Bono Mack, Member of Congress, 1998-2013
• William A. Burck, Deputy Staff Secretary, Special Counsel and Deputy Counsel to the President, 2005-2009
• Alex Castellanos, Republican Media Advisor
• Paul Cellucci, Governor of Massachusetts, 1997-2001, and Ambassador to Canada, 2001-2005
• Mary Cheney, Director of Vice Presidential Operations, Bush-Cheney 2004
• Jim Cicconi, Assistant to the President & Deputy to the Chief of Staff, 1989-1990
• James B. Comey, United States Deputy Attorney General, 2003-2005
• R. Clarke Cooper, U.S. Alternative Representative, United Nations Security Council, 2007-2009
• Julie Cram, Deputy Assistant to the President and Director White House Office of Public Liaison, 2007-2009
• Michele Davis, Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs and Director of Policy Planning, Department of the Treasury, 2006-2009
• Kenneth M. Duberstein, White House Chief of Staff and Assistant to the President, 1981-1984 and 1987-1989
• Lew Eisenberg, Finance Chairman, Republican National Committee, 2002-2004
• Elizabeth Noyer Feld, Public Affairs Specialist, White House Office of Management and Budget, 1984-1987
• David Frum, Special Assistant to the President, 2001-2002
• Richard Galen, Communications Director, Speaker’s Political Office, 1996-1997
• Mark Gerson, Chairman, Gerson Lehrman Group and Author of The Neoconservative Vision: From the Cold War to the Culture Wars and In the Classroom: Dispatches from an Inner-City School that Works
• Benjamin Ginsberg, General Counsel, Bush-Cheney 2000 & 2004
• Adrian Gray, Director of Strategy, Republican National Committee, 2005-2007
• Richard Grenell, Spokesman, U.S. Ambassadors to the United Nations, 2001-2008
• Patrick Guerriero, Mayor, Melrose Massachusetts and member of Massachusetts House of Representatives, 1993-2001
• Carlos Gutierrez, Secretary of Commerce, 2005-2009
• Stephen Hadley, Assistant to the President and National Security Advisor, 2005-2009
• Richard Hanna, Member of Congress, 2011-Present
• Israel Hernandez, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for International Trade, 2005-2009
• Margaret Hoover, Advisor to the Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security, 2005-2006
• Michael Huffington, Member of Congress, 1993-1995
• Jon Huntsman, Governor of Utah, 2005-2009
• David A. Javdan, General Counsel, United States Small Business Administration, 2002-2006
• Reuben Jeffery, Undersecretary of State for Economic, Energy, and Agricultural Affairs, 2007-2009
• Greg Jenkins, Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of Presidential Advance, 2003-2004
• Coddy Johnson, National Field Director, Bush-Cheney 2004
• Gary Johnson, Governor of New Mexico, 1995-2003
• Robert Kabel, Special Assistant to the President for Legislative Affairs, 1982-1985
• Theodore W. Kassinger, Deputy Secretary of Commerce, 2004-2005
• Jonathan Kislak, Deputy Undersecretary of Agriculture for Small Community and Rural Development, 1989-1991
• David Kochel, Senior Advisor to Mitt Romney’s Iowa Campaign, 2007-2008 and 2011-2012
• James Kolbe, Member of Congress, 1985-2007
• Jeffrey Kupfer, Acting Deputy Secretary of Energy, 2008-2009
• Kathryn Lehman, Chief of Staff, House Republican Conference, 2003-2005
• Daniel Loeb, Businessman and Philanthropist
• Alex Lundry, Director of Data Science, Romney for President, 2012
• Greg Mankiw, Chairman, Council of Economic Advisers, 2003-2005
• Catherine Martin, Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy Communications Director for Policy & Planning, 2005-2007
• Kevin Martin, Chairman, Federal Communications Commission, 2005-2009
• David McCormick, Undersecretary of the Treasury for International Affairs, 2007-2009
• Mark McKinnon, Republican Media Advisor
• Bruce P. Mehlman, Assistant Secretary of Commerce, 2001-2003
• Connie Morella, Member of Congress, 1987-2003 and U.S. Ambassador to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, 2003-2007
• Michael E. Murphy, Republican Political Consultant
• Michael Napolitano, White House Office of Political Affairs, 2001-2003
• Ana Navarro, National Hispanic Co-Chair for Senator John McCain’s Presidential Campaign, 2008
• Noam Neusner, Special Assistant to the President for Economic Speechwriting, 2002-2005
• Nancy Pfotenhauer, Economist, Presidential Transition Team, 1988 and President's Council on Competitiveness, 1990
• J. Stanley Pottinger, Assistant U.S. Attorney General (Civil Rights Division), 1973-1977
• Michael Powell, Chairman, Federal Communications Commission, 2001-2005
• Deborah Pryce, Member of Congress, 1993-2009
• John Reagan, New Hampshire State Senator, 2012-Present
• Kelley Robertson, Chief of Staff, Republican National Committee, 2005-2007
• Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Member of Congress, 1989-Present
• Harvey S. Rosen, Member and Chairman, Council of Economic Advisers, 2003-2005
• Lee Rudofsky, Deputy General Counsel, Romney for President, 2012
• Patrick Ruffini, eCampaign Director, Republican National Committee, 2005-2007
• Steve Schmidt, Deputy Assistant to the President and Counselor to the Vice President, 2004-2006
• Ken Spain, Communications Director, National Republican Congressional Committee, 2009-2010
• Robert Steel, Undersecretary of the Treasury for Domestic Finance, 2006-2008
• David Stockman, Director, Office of Management and Budget, 1981-1985
• Jane Swift, Governor of Massachusetts, 2001-2003
• Michael E. Toner, Chairman and Commissioner, Federal Election Commission, 2002-2007
• Michael Turk, eCampaign Director for Bush-Cheney 2004
• Mark Wallace, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Representative for UN Management and Reform, 2006-2008
• Nicolle Wallace, Assistant to the President and White House Communications Director, 2005-2008
• William F. Weld, Governor of Massachusetts, 1991-1997, and Assistant U.S. Attorney General (Criminal Division), 1986-1988
• Christine Todd Whitman, Governor of New Jersey, 1994-2001, and Administrator of the EPA, 2001-2003
• Meg Whitman, Republican Nominee for Governor of California, 2010
• Robert Wickers, Republican Political Consultant
• Dan Zwonitzer, Wyoming State Representative, 2005-present