Kramer Levin Files Third Circuit Amicus Brief on Behalf of Mainstream Religious Groups Opposing Foster Care Agency That Refuses to Work with Same-Sex Couples

Kramer Levin has filed an amicus brief on behalf of major religious organizations and individual faith leaders – including the Stated Clerk of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.); the Central Conference of American Rabbis; and the Central Atlantic, Penn Northeast, Pennsylvania Southeast, and Penn West Conferences of the United Church of Christ, among others – in a case now pending before the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit addressing the claimed right of a foster care agency to refuse to certify otherwise qualified same-sex couples as foster parents, notwithstanding antidiscrimination provisions in the agency’s contract with the City of Philadelphia.

The Kramer Levin brief, filed in Fulton v. City of Philadelphia, currently scheduled to be argued on Nov. 6, 2018, documents the growing support among mainstream U.S religions for fair and equal treatment under the law for LGBT individuals and their families. The brief opposes arguments by the foster care agency that enforcing the antidiscrimination obligations to which it agreed impinges upon its religious liberty. The brief also responds to arguments made by certain amicus briefs supporting the agency that enforcing antidiscrimination obligations will discourage faith-based organizations from providing social services or otherwise limit the diversity of the services offered. Contrary to the suggestion that civil rights protections for LGBT persons conflicts with religious belief and practice, a growing number of mainstream faiths affirm same-sex couples’ relationships, including by supporting if not solemnizing their marriages. Diverse faith groups and religious observers also affirm LGBT persons’ place in civic life and agree that faith-based organizations should not discriminate against LGBT individuals when those organizations enter the civil sphere.

The brief echoes themes in similar briefs filed by Kramer Levin in a string of marriage equality and LGBT rights cases, including United States v. Windsor (2013), in which the Supreme Court struck down part of the Defense of Marriage Act, Obergefell v. Hodges (2015), which recognized same-sex couples’ constitutional right to marry, and Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Rights Commission (2018), which was decided on narrow grounds but affirmed that business owners cannot deny LGBT persons equal access to goods and services under neutral and generally applicable public accommodations laws.

The Kramer Levin team that drafted the brief includes Litigation partners Jeffrey S. Trachtman and Norman C. Simon and special counsel Tobias B. Jacoby and Jason M. Moff, with assistance from associate Elise Funke and paralegal Cedric Comeau.

Kramer Levin has played a leading role in pro bono LGBT rights litigation for nearly two decades. The firm previously submitted amicus briefs in Boy Scouts v. Dale and Lawrence v. Texas, two landmark LGBT rights cases before the Supreme Court; the 2013 and 2015 marriage cases; and several intervening and subsequent cases in state and federal court addressing marriage equality and LGBT rights. The firm also served as co-counsel in Hernandez v. Robles, which sought equal marriage rights under the New York constitution.

Read the complete brief here.