Law Prof. Andrew Koppelman recently co-wrote and submitted an amicus brief to the Supreme Court calling attention to the gender discrimination argument regarding same-sex marriage laws.

Koppelman and George Mason University Prof. Ilya Somin submitted the amicus brief to the Supreme Court last month, saying laws banning same-sex marriage can be considered gender discrimination. They argue states permit a man and a woman to get married on the premise of their genders, but some object to two women or two men getting married, making it a gender-based restriction. An amicus brief can be submitted by someone who is not directly involved in the case but has relevant information to offer the court.

“Each of the laws challenged in this case clearly mandates that whether one can marry any specific person depends on whether one is a man or a woman,” Koppelman and Somin wrote in the brief.

Next week, the Supreme Court will begin to hear arguments on whether states can ban same-sex marriage.

“I’ve fought for years for the sex-discrimination argument, which is a powerful and neglected argument,” Koppelman told The Daily. “I thought I might mention it to the Justices.”

Koppelman said he and Somin wanted to get their message out and decided to write an opinion piece in USA Today, which was published Monday.

The article has received mixed reactions on both Koppelman and Somin’s Facebook feeds. Koppelman said Somin’s more conservative Facebook friends have sparked a debate in the comments section of his profile, while Koppelman’s more liberal Facebook-friend circle was less argumentative.

“On mine, people just liked it and shared it,” Koppelman said. “That’s the only reaction I’m aware of.”

Communication sophomore Matthew Fulle, who worked in Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s press office in Fall Quarter, said that Koppelman and Somin’s argument transitions the issue of same-sex marriage from discrimination of sexual orientation to discrimination in gender.

“It changes … the way the argument is framed,” he said. “The issue of framing things is just as important as the persuasiveness of the argument … especially with an issue like same-sex marriage, it is incredibly important to reframe it as something that is relatable to more people.”

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