It's terribly important that we extend the promise of equality that the Supreme Court and that the district court articulated in the DOMA case and in the Perry case to all Americans in all 50 states.
David BoiesRead
One of the things that the court held in Brown v. Board of Education is that government can't impose a badge of inferiority on some of its citizens. Yet that is exactly what Proposition 8 does with respect to gay and lesbian couples in California.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Government should not impose inferiority on any group of its citizens, including the LGBTQ+ community.
In this quote, David Boies draws a parallel between the landmark Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education, which ruled against racial segregation, and Proposition 8, which sought to limit marriage rights for gay and lesbian couples in California. Boies argues that just as the court found racial segregation to be a form of discrimination that imposed a 'badge of inferiority' on African Americans, Proposition 8 similarly imposed an unjust label on LGBTQ+ individuals, denying them equal rights and dignity under the law.
Themes
EqualityRightsDiscriminationMarriageLgbtq+
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech advocating for LGBTQ+ rights, one might cite this quote to argue against discriminatory laws.
More from David Boies
All quotes →The very purpose of the Bill of Rights and the Constitution is to protect minority rights against majority voters. Every court decision that strikes down discriminatory legislation, including past Supreme Court decisions, affirming the fundamental rights to marry the person you love, overrules a majority decision.
David BoiesRead
We put fear and prejudice on trial, and fear and prejudice lost.
David BoiesRead
Unlike people of my generation, my children and my grandchildren have grown up living with, knowing, people who were outwardly gay and lesbian. And they have learned that they're just like us... And when you see that they're just like us, the rationale for discrimination melts away.
David BoiesRead
We're now segregating our schools based on economics; we're segregating our schools based on where a child's parents live. And it has the same corrosive effect of destroying people's opportunity as racial segregation did.
David BoiesRead
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