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Capitol Hill Briefing

After the Arguments: What’s Next for Marriage Equality?

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Date and Time
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Location
B-369 Rayburn House Office Building
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Featuring
Featuring Mary Bonauto, Civil Rights Project Director, Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders; Kathryn Lehman, Partner, Holland & Knight; Walter Olson, Senior Fellow, Cato Institute; and Ilya Shapiro, Senior Fellow in Constitutional Studies and Editor-In-Chief, Cato Supreme Court Review, Cato Institute; moderated by Laura Odato, Director of Government Affairs, Cato Institute.

On March 26 and 27, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in potential landmark cases on the rights of same-sex couples: U.S. v. Windsor, a challenge to the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), and Hollingsworth v. Perry, a challenge to California’s Proposition 8 ban on gay marriage. Is the United States moving toward legal equality between gay and straight couples? What does the U.S. Constitution have to say about the question? And should the Republican Party, long committed to opposing marriage equality, rethink its position? This panel will examine these questions as well as the shifting politics of support for marriage equality after several state initiatives passed in the 2012 elections.