"Fourteen times the Supreme Court has stated that marriage is a fundamental right of all individuals. This case tests the proposition whether the gay and lesbian Americans among us should be counted as 'persons' under the 14th Amendment, or whether they constitute a permanent underclass ineligible for protection under that cornerstone of our Constitution," attorneys Theodore B. Olson and David Boies wrote in their filing.

"Our Constitution requires the government to treat every American equally under the law," said Chad Griffin, the Board President of the American Foundation for Equal Rights. "Only full federal marriage equality would fulfill the requirements of our Constitution. That is why we are pressing this case through the Supreme Court."