Current Affairs

Big brands come out in support of Supreme Court DOMA and Prop 8 decisions

Jun 26 2013
Written by Joseph McCormick

Following the US Supreme Court’s decision in favour of same-sex couples in two landmark cases today, many large brands came out to show their support of the decision.

Both rulings saw 5-4 Justices in favour of same sex couples. The first case saw the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) struck down. DOMA, passed in 1996, federally defined marriage as between one man and one woman only.

In the second case, around California’s Proposition 8, the Supreme Court ruled that such a ruling was not in its jurisdiction, nor was it in the jurisdiction of the Ninth Circuit Court, which previously ruled, therefore deferring the decision to a previous ruling by a district court which decided the ban was unconstitutional.

Marc Jacobs took to Facebook to post an image, and message of support which read: The #SCOTUS dismissed the California #Prop8 appeal. Congrats to everyone in California who have been waiting to make their marriages legal!
#marriageequality #loveislove

Marc Jacobs posted a message of support for the rulings

Instagram created a special page with a compilation of images from around the rulings, and Apple released a statement showing its support.

“Apple strongly supports marriage equality and we consider it a civil rights issue. We applaud the Supreme Court for its decisions today,” Apple said in a statement.

Fab.com online retailer changed its profile picture on Facebook, in order to show its support for equality, and the decision.

Fab Applauds The U.S. Supreme Court Decision to Strike Down DOMA #lovewhatyoulove.

Starbucks issued a statement which read: “Equality is a core value of the company. Starbucks has offered domestic partner benefits to our partners for more than two decades. That said, we are very pleased with today’s ruling. Starbucks always puts our people first, and we will continue to advocate for equality inclusion.”

Microsoft said: “Today’s decision turns the page on a law that made it more difficult for us to treat all of our employees, regardless of sexual orientation, equally. Microsoft joined dozens of corporations, organizations and governments in support of the challenge to DOMA because of the significant costs and administrative burdens it imposed on employers and because it interfered with our efforts to promote diversity and equal opportunity in the workplace.”

MasterCard also showed suport, as it took to Twitter with an #AcceptanceMatters hashtag, and a message of support.

When different people come together it’s not just beautiful, it’s #Priceless. All around the world #AcceptanceMatters!

— MasterCard (@MasterCard) June 26, 2013

Despite not issuing a statement after the rulings, Facebook this week announced that 70% of US users were friends with at least one person who openly lists that they are gay, lesbian or bisexual.

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg did post a message to his timeline later in the afternoon, however. “I’m proud that our country is moving in the right direction, and I’m happy for so many of my friends and their families. #PrideConnectsUs,” he wrote.

Other brands showing support included Banana Republic, with “love for all”, Smirnoff vodka, which simply said: “We do”, and Ben and Jerry’s ice cream, with the message: “Marriage equality is a constitutional right”.

Others included Citi, UBS, Mondelēz International, the manufacturer of Oreos, Ernst and Young, Johnson and Johnson, GAP, Goldman Sachs, Marriott, Levi’s, and many others.

Google earlier this week added a gay easter egg, which changes the search bar into rainbow colours when certain search terms are entered, to commemorate the anniversary of the Stonewall riots this week.