US: Ben & Jerry’s backs Supreme Court marriage equality brief
Ice cream manufacturer Ben & Jerry’s has backed a brief calling on the US Supreme Court to rule on marriage equality.
The company is the latest to sign the Employers’ Amicus Brief, urging the Supreme Court to take up one of the pending marriage ban cases from Utah, Oklahoma and Virginia when it begins its new session next month.
It adds its name to the more than 30 companies including Amazon, CBS, eBay, Nike, Target, Intel and Viacom, that have filed in favour of an equal marriage ruling.
Spokesperson Chris Miller said: “Often, it’s not enough to change the way you do business, or change the practice within your business.
“Unless you’re willing to stand up and advocate for the rights of others, not just here in our backyard but around the world, it’s often just not good enough.
“This is not just a concern of the gay rights community. There is a broad base of support for a single standard across all 50 states that recognize same sex marriage.”
Mr Miller also denied the move was a ‘lefty business’ decision, saying: “If you look at the list [of businesses], you’ve got some very large, mainstream, well-recognized corps and brands, and I think that brings some credibility to the issue – the broader the base of support you have, the more likely it is you’re going to make a change.”
It is not the first time Ben & Jerry’s has backed marriage equality, releasing special’Apple-y Ever After’ and ‘Chubby Hubbies’ editions previously.
A majority of US states have also called on the Supreme Court to issue a ruling on same-sex marriage, across two separate legal briefs.
One brief backed by Massachusetts, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Vermont, and Washington calls on the court to rule in favour of marriage equality.
A second, supported by Colorado, ,Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Georgia, Idaho, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, West Virginia and Wisconsin, calls on the court to end protracted legal battles by ruling on the issue.
