Kimpton, Marriott, JetBlue and Disney among those asking the high court to end DOMA
Many heavy hitters in the travel industry were among the nearly 300 companies, organizations and local goverments that signed on to a brief filed with the Supreme Court yesterday calling for the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which forbids federal recognition of same-sex marriage, to be struck down as unconstitutional.
The brief states:
Although marriages are celebrated and recognized under state law, DOMA, a federal law withholding marital benefits from some lawful marriages but not others, requires that employers treat one employee differently from another, when each is married, and each marriage is equally lawful. DOMA thus impairs employer/employee relations and other business interests. In this brief, amici show how the burden of DOMA’s dual regime is keenly felt by organizations that conduct operations or do business in jurisdictions that authorize or recognize marriage between two people of the same sex.
The brief’s list of supporters includes:
- Alaska Airlines
- Caesars Entertainment Corportation
- Commune Hotels & Resorts
- The Forward Motion Group
- Horizon Air Industries Inc.
- JetBlue Airways Corporation
- Kimpton Hotels & Restaurant Group LLC
- Marriott International Inc.
- Orbitz Worldwide
- Walt Disney Company
A copy of the brief including the complete list of the supporting parties is available here.
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