Hearing Set for Nov. 12 in Legal Challenge to Mississippi’s Same-Sex Marriage Ban

JACKSON, Miss. (Press Release) — A hearing on the motion for preliminary injunction has been set in Campaign for Southern Equality v. Bryant, a federal challenge to Mississippi’s law banning same-sex marriage. At 9 a.m. on November 12, both sides in the case will gather in federal court in Jackson, Mississippi before U.S. District Court Judge Carlton W. Reeves.

A schedule for briefings as set by the judge can be found at bit.ly/1wtHYXj.

“By setting the schedule that it did, the Court clearly appreciated the need for expedition on issues of such great constitutional and practical import. We look forward to presenting our arguments to Judge Reeves on November 12. We are confident that, having read the briefs and heard our arguments, the Court will grant the relief that our clients seek – namely, the right to be treated like all other Mississippi families who love and care for each other, pay their taxes, and do their best to raise their kids,” says lead counsel Roberta Kaplan.

Lead counsel for the plaintiffs is Roberta Kaplan of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP. Plaintiffs are also represented by Mississippi attorney Robert McDuff of McDuff & Byrd, based in Jackson, Mississippi.

Kaplan was also lead counsel in United States v. Windsor, the landmark case that struck down sections of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in a U.S. Supreme Court ruling issued in June 2013. The Windsor ruling resulted in the federal government recognizing same-sex marriages and paved the way for federal judges and U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeals to strike down state laws banning marriage from coast to coast.

“We are hopeful that the freedom to marry will soon become a reality for LGBT families all across Mississippi and that the harms of discrimination that have been felt by so many will soon cease,” says Rev. Jasmine Beach-Ferrara, Executive Director of the Campaign for Southern Equality.

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of two same-sex couples – Andrea Sanders and Rebecca Bickett, and Jocelyn Pritchett and Carla Webb – and the Campaign for Southern Equality. Campaign for Southern Equality, et. al. v. Bryant, et. al. challenges the constitutionality of marriage laws in Mississippi that ban marriage between same-sex couples and deny recognition of same-sex marriages performed out of state.

The Campaign for Southern Equality has been advocating for LGBT equality across Mississippi since 2012 through a series of public actions.