“Gay and lesbian people are equal. They deserve equal protection of the laws, and they deserve it now.” PeopleLawGayEqualDeserveProtectionEqual Protection Author:Donald Verrilli Jr.
“There was only really one time that I had a substantive interaction with the president [Barak Obama] directly, and that was in 2013 when we were deciding whether to file a brief in the first gay marriage case, the Perry against Hollingsworth case. That was a weighty decision about whether the United States government was going to come in and say that heightened scrutiny ought to apply and some state bans on same-sex marriage ought to be unconstitutional. And that was the one time in my tenure where I thought I ought not make this decision without talking to the president.” FirstsStatesGovernmentSexPresidentDecisionUnitedTalkingCasesUnited StatesOughtGayOne TimeInteractionGay MarriageFilesBansScrutinyState GovernmentTenureUnconstitutionalUnited States GovernmentBarak Obama Author:Donald Verrilli Jr.
“I think what Lawrence did was provide an assurance that gay and lesbian couples could live openly in society as free people and start families and raise families and participate fully in their communities without fear. And two things flowed from that, I think. One is that has brought us to the point where we understand now in a way even that we did not fully understand in Lawrence, that gay and lesbian people and gay and lesbian couples are full and equal members of the community.” PeopleThinkingWayTwoCommunityCoupleGayEqualMembersRaisesTwo ThingsAssurance Author:Donald Verrilli Jr.
“What we once thought of as necessary and proper reasons for ostracizing and marginalizing gay people, we now understand do not justify that kind of oppression.” PeopleKindReasonGayOppressionJustifyGay People Author:Donald Verrilli Jr.
“I did think Justice [Antony] Kennedy's opinion on Lawrence was critical to that because it really, what Lawrence in one sense was, of course, about consensual sex being something that the government can't regulate. But really in a more fundamental sense, what it was saying, "Look. Gay people are normal people, and they get to live normal lives. They're not criminals by virtue of the fact of being gay."” PeopleThinkingLooksFactsGovernmentCoursesSexJusticeOpinionVirtueGayNormalFundamentalsCriticalCriminalsGay PeopleNormal LifeBeing GayAntony Author:Donald Verrilli Jr.
“There was a huge movement that led up to [gay marriage legilization], and I played a small role in the great scheme of things. But it was really a privilege to get to do it.” RolesMovementHugeGayPrivilegeSchemesGay MarriageSmall Roles Author:Donald Verrilli Jr.
