14-556 Jason Feliciano and Seventeen Pastors

8/9/2019 14-556 Jason Feliciano and Seventeen Pastors

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QUESTIONS PRESENTEDDoes the Fourteenth Amendment require a state to

license a marriage between two people of the same sex?

Does the Fourteenth Amendment require a state torecognize a marriage between two people of the samesex when their marriage was lawfully licensed andperformed out of state?


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TABLE OF CONTENTSQUESTIONS PRESENTED . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . i

TABLE OF AUTHORITIES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iii

STATEMENT OF IDENTITY AND INTEREST OF AMICI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

SUMMARY OF ARGUMENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

ARGUMENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

I. Christian Marriage Perspective . . . . . . . . . . . 2

II. Text of the Laws . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

III. Historical and Political Context . . . . . . . . . . . 7

A. Europe’s Same Sex Marriage Cases . . . . . 7

IV. Legitimate Rational is rooted in the Biological Reality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

A. One Man and One Woman Relationships Are Unique. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

CONCLUSION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 APPENDIX

Appendix A List of Amici . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . App. 1


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TABLE OF AUTHORITIESCASES

Hämäläinen v. Finland [GC], no. 37359/09, ECHR 2014 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7, 8, 9

Lawrence v. Texas , 539 U.S. 558 (2003) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6, 9

Marbury v. Madison ,5 U.S. 137 (1803) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

CONSTITUTIONSFinland Const. Art. 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7, 8

U.S. Const. Amend. X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5, 11

U.S. Const. Amend. XIV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1, 8, 11

RULES

Sup. Ct. R. 37 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Sup. Ct. R. 37.3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Sup. Ct. R. 37.6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 OTHER AUTHORITIES

I Corinthians 11: 14, 15 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

1 Peter 3:7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

1 Peter 3:1-7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Church of God Resolutions, Marriage and Family, 2012 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2


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Church of God, Divine Order in the Home ,h t t p : / / w w w. c h u r c h o f g o d / p r a c t i c a l -commitments/family-resp[onsibility . . . . . . . . . . 3

Colossians 3:18, 19 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Colossians 3:20 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Colossians 3:21 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Deuteronomy 6:4-9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Ephesians 5:32 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Ephesians 6:1-4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Genesis 1:16-27 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Genesis 1:27 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2, 3

Genesis 2:7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Genesis 3:16-19 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Ephesians 5:22-31 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Ephesians 6:1-3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Ephesians 6:4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Exodus 20:12 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Linda J. Murray, Babycenter Pregnancy: From Preconception to Birth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Richard Nordquist, Coordinating Conjunction, About Education, http://www.grammar.about .com/od/c/g/ coordconjterm.htm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

http://www.churchofgod/practicalhttp://www.grammar.about/http://www.churchofgod/practicalhttp://www.grammar.about/


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Richard Nordquist, Subordinating Conjunction , Abou t Educat ion, http://www.grammar .about.com/od/rs/g/subordconj.htm . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Psalm 127:1–5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Austin Ruse, European Human Rights Court: No Right to Same-Sex Marriage , http://www .breitbart.com/london/2014/07/25/european-human-rights-court-says-no-right-to-same-sex-marriage/ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

The Sacraments [of] Marriage , Volume II - Worship,h t t p : / / w w w . o c a . o r g / t h e - o r t h o d o x -faith/worship/the-sacraments/marriage . . . . . . . 3

http://www.grammar/http://www/http://www.oca.org/the-orthodoxhttp://www.grammar/http://www/http://www.oca.org/the-orthodox


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ARGUMENTI. Christian Marriage Perspective

The Christian definition of marriage is a muchhigher standard than the secular definition used by thestate. In Christianity, God created marriage on thesixth day of creation when He formed man out of thedust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils thebreath of life (Genesis 2:7). “Then God said, ‘Let usmake man in our image... in the image of God Hecreated him, male and female He created them”

(Genesis 1:16-27). Christians understand God as atrinity: God the Father, God the Son Jesus Christ, andGod the Holy Spirit. This doctrine is key to theChristian belief, and is found again here in Genesis1:27 “Let Us make man in Our image” (emphasisadded). Christians do not worship three gods, but oneHoly and Separate Godhead. This is key tounderstanding marriage from a Christian perspective.To The Church 2, marriage like God is a triune. 3

“Biblical marriage is a threefold covenant relationshipbetween one man, one woman, and one God whoexternally exists in three persons as Father, Son, andHoly Spirit” (Church of God Resolutions, Marriage andFamily, 2012). Again, the uniqueness of male andfemale are important to marriage.

2 Church here is not referring to a building or house of worship, butinstead refers to every person who believes that Jesus Christ hascome in the flesh, was crucified, dead, and buried, and on the thirdday He rose again, and will one day come to judge the living anddead. Globally, people who put their trust in Jesus Christ forremission of sin are otherwise known as believers, or Christians.

3 God, Husband, and Wife


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“When God created man, He created them maleand female (Genesis 1:27). He gave themdistinctly different characteristics (I Corinthians11: 14, 15; 1 Peter 3:7) as well as differentresponsibilities (Genesis 3:16-19; 1 Peter 3:1-7).In God’s order, the husband is head of the home(Ephesians 5:22-31; Colossians 3:18, 19), parentsare to nurture and admonish their children(Ephesians 6:4, Colossians 3:21), and childrenare to obey and honor their parents (Exodus20:12; Ephesians 6:1-3; Colossians 3:20). In

order for harmony to exist in the home, God’sorder of responsibility must be observed.”( Divine Order in the Home , Church of God,http://www.churchofgod/practical-commitments /family-responsibility)

Marriage is also a representation to Christians of thelong lasting, holy unity, and divine relationship of,“Christ, and The Church” (Ephesians 5:32). Accordingto the Orthodox Church of America, “In the sacramentof marriage, a man and a woman are given thepossibility to become one [in] spirit...” ( The Sacraments

[of] Marriage , Volume II - Worship, http://www.oca.org /the-orthodox-faith/worship/the-sacraments/marriage).This “oneness” is unique among Christianrelationships, and reminds us of our unity with Christ.Scripture also affirms that Holy Matrimony creates afamily unit that is God’s design for the nurturing ofchildren (Deuteronomy 6:4–9; Psalm 127:1–5;Ephesians 6:1-4).

While the states marriage laws do not touch on the“Sacrament of Marriage”, or the “Order in the Home”,or the “threefold covenant of marriage” we believe it is

http://www.churchofgod/practical-commitmentshttp:///reader/full/http://www.oca.orghttp://www.churchofgod/practical-commitmentshttp:///reader/full/http://www.oca.org


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Constitution. Under the Constitution, powers notspecifically given to the federal government and notprohibited to the states belong to the states, or to thepeople. Clearly, the issue of marriage is not referencedanywhere in the text of the Constitution. The onlyconclusion that can be reached based on this is thatauthority over marriage is reserved to the states, or tothe people.

In 2003 Lawrence v. Texas , this Court made clearreference to the European Court on Human Rights asa standard to follow, “to the extent Bowers relied on

values shared with a wider civilization, the casesreasoning and holding have been rejected by theEuropean Court of Human Rights,” Lawrence v. Texas ,539 U.S. 558 (2003). With that same emphasis Amicinow remind this Court that just last year, TheEuropean Court on Human Rights declared, “TheEuropean Convention on Human Rights does notrequire member states’ governments to grant same-sexcouples access to marriage.” It further explained -correctly - that, “a child could not have two mothers,”and, “it cannot be said that there exists in anyEuropean consensus on allowing same-sex marriage.”(Austin Ruse, European Human Rights Court: No Rightto Same-Sex Marriage , Breitbart (July 25, 2014),http://www.breitbart.com/london/2014/07/25/european -human-rights-court-says-no-right-to-same-sex-marriage/)

http://www.breitbart.com/london/2014/07/25/europeanhttp://www.breitbart.com/london/2014/07/25/european


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III. Historical and Political Context A. Europe’s Same Sex Marriage Cases

In Hämäläinen v. Finland the European Court ofHuman Rights had two seemingly competitive laws.First, was “Section 1 of the Marriage Act ( avioliittolaki,äktenskapslagen ; Act no. 411/1987) provides thatmarriage is between a woman and a man” Hämäläinenv. Finland no. 37359/09, ECHR §§ 24, (2014). “Section115 of the same Act (as amended by Act 226/2001)provides the following:

‘A marriage concluded between a woman and aman in a foreign State before an authority ofthat State shall be valid in Finland if it is validin the State in which it was concluded or in aState of which either spouse was a citizen or inwhich either spouse was habitually resident atthe time of conclusion of the marriage’”(emphasis added) Hämäläinen v. Finland no.37359/09, ECHR § 25 (2014).

Secondly,

“Article 6 of the Constitution ( Suomen persutuslaki, Finlands grundlag ; Act no.731/1999) provides: ‘Everyone is equal before thelaw. No one shall, without an acceptable reasonbe treated differently from other persons on theground of sex, age, origin, language, religion,conviction, opinion, health, disability, or otherreason that concerns his or her person. Childrenshall be treated equally and as individuals, andthey shall be allowed to influence matters

pertaining to themselves to a degreecorresponding to their level of development.”


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Hämäläinen v. Finland no. 37359/09, ECHR§ 23 (2014).

Amici remind the court that like the EuropeanCourt on Human Rights in Hämäläinen v. Finland , theSupreme Court of the United States today faces somenoteworthy similar challenges. Comparatively, theUnited States Constitution’s 14 th Amendment is similarto Article 6 of the Constitution in Finland; and Ohio,Kentucky, Tennessee, and Michigan’s ConstitutionalMarriage Amendments are similar to Section 1, andSection 115 of the Marriage Act in Finland. The casebefore this Court today should have a similar outcome.

The European Court of Human Rights in Hämäläinen v. Finland no. 37359/09, ECHR § 96(2014) under, “The Court’s Assessment,” states:

“96. The Court reiterates that Article 12 of the[European] Convention [of Human Rights] is alex specialis for the right to marry. It secures thefundamental right of a man and woman tomarry and to found a family. Article 12

expressly provides for regulation of marriage bynational law. It enshrines the traditionalconcept of marriage as being between a man anda woman (see Rees v. the United Kingdom , citedabove, § 49). While it is true that someContracting States have extended marriage tosame-sex partners, Article 12 cannot beconstrued as imposing an obligation on theContracting States to grant access to marriageto same-sex couples (see Schalk and Kopf v.

Austria , cited above, § 63)” (emphasis added)

Hämäläinen v. Finland , no. 37359/09, § 96ECHR (2014).


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“71. The Court reiterates its case-law accordingto which Article 8 of the Convention cannot beinterpreted as imposing an obligation onContracting States to grant same-sex couplesaccess to marriage (see Schalk and Kopf v.

Austria, no 30141/04 § 101, ECHR 2010)” Hämäläinen v. Finland , no. 37359/09, § 71ECHR (2014).

The Court noted,

“73. From the information available to the

Court… it appears that currently 10 memberStates allow same-sex marriage.” Hämäläinen v.

Finland , no. 37359/09, § 73 ECHR (2014).

“74. Thus it cannot be said that there exists anyEuropean consensus in allowing same-sexmarriages.” Hämäläinen v. Finland , no.37359/09, § 74 ECHR (2014).

Paralleling Lawrence Amici remind this Court that,“Other nations, too, have taken action consistent withan affirmation of the protected right of states to engagein defining marriage to one man, one womanrelationships only. The right the respondents seek inthis case has been accepted as an integral part of states’freedom in many other countries. There has been noshowing that in this country the governmental interestin circumscribing state marriage is somehow lesslegitimate or urgent” (emphasis added).


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IV.

Legitimate Rational is rooted in theBiological Reality

A. One Man and One Woman Relationships Are Unique.

Every child has a mother and a father, whichremains true whether that child is conceived in alaboratory or through natural means. This BiologicalReality is not contested by the petitioners or therespondents. One does not need to go further thanunderstanding that man and woman are unique and

together they are uniquely poised to procreate. Again,it is a Biological reality that human reproductiondepends on a biological father and a biological mother.From the moment of conception our DNA determinesthe many characteristics of the human body. This ismost evidently seen with the characteristic of physicalsex. At the moment of conception 23 chromosomes froma mother, and 23 chromosomes from a father jointogether to form the unique DNA (46 chromosomes)that is the building block of every person. “Women havetwo X chromosomes (XX) and men have one X and one

Y chromosome (XY). A man can pass on an X or a Ychromosome. The woman’s egg always contains an Xchromosome” (Linda J. Murray Pregnancy from

preconception to birth p.32). Even at the earliest stagesof human development a mother’s son or daughter isunique, having a unique set of DNA. If the fatherpasses on a Y chromosome then his offspring is male,or if the father passes on an X chromosome then hisoffspring is female. Therefore the uniqueness of maleand female is determined at the moment of conception.


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The 14th amendment to the US Constitution doesnot force state to enact same sex marriage. Marriageaccording to the Bible is a higher standard of marriagethen the state secular definition. The issue in this caseis that the Tenth Amendment requires that the statedecide it’s marriage laws. Ohio, Tennessee, Michigan,and Kentucky voted to uphold in their respective statesthe definition of marriage as between one man and onewoman. The Fourteenth Amendment does not requirestate to change this definition based on other stateschosen definition of marriage.

CONCLUSION

For all of the forgoing reasons, the Sixth Circuit’sdecision should be upheld.

Respectfully submitted,

Sandra F. Gilbert, Esq. Counsel of Record

3020 Garland LanePlymouth, MN 55447

[email protected]

Counsel for Amici Curiae

mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]


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APPENDIX


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APPENDIX

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Appendix A List of Amici . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . App. 1


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App. 2

Pastor Raymont JohnsonSpirit of Faith Christian Center of Ohio

Pastor Louanne ZakaskiRiver of Life Christian Fellowship

Pastors Shelton Tufts and Emily TuftsDominion Kingdom Family Ministries1738 Tuscarawas Street EastCanton, Ohio 44707

Rev. Walker S. Stewart

Sanctuary Church of God6535 Maplebrook St.East Canton, Ohio 44641730

Bishop Wesley M. MooreJohnson

Pastor Kevin Andrews and Barbara Andrews

Pastor Alan LambParis Israel Church12583 Lisbon St NEParis Ohio 44669

Pastor Larry HinkleChrist United Methodist Church600 East Gorgas StreetLouisville, Ohio 44641

Dr. Michael D. Gross5-Fold Global Ministries1967 East Maple Street, Suite 136North Canton, OH 44685


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App. 3

Pastor Kevin ThomasFirst Baptist Church of Canton4110 38th Street NorthwestCanton, Ohio 44718

Rev. Mark Stevenson,Interdenominational Ministerial AssociationCanton, Ohio

14-556 Jason Feliciano and Seventeen Pastors

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