Top Republicans file Supreme Court brief backing gay marriage

More than six dozen prominent Republicans have signed a legal brief to be submitted to the Supreme Court voicing support for gay marriage, the New York Times reported Tuesday.

The list features members of Congress, including Reps. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (Fla.) and Richard Hanna (N.Y.), top Bush administration officials including national security adviser Stephen J. Hadley, and former presidential candidate Jon Huntsman. It also includes Republicans who had not previously signaled support for gay marriage, including former Rep. Deborah Price (Ohio), who was a member of House leadership during her time in Congress.

“Like a lot of the country, my views have evolved on this from the first day I set foot in Congress," Price told the paper. "I think it’s just the right thing, and I think it’s on solid legal footing, too.”

The brief will be filed in support of a pair of Supreme Court cases to be argued next month that challenge a California ballot initiative banning same-sex marriage and the federal Defense of Marriage Act. Gay rights supporters are optimistic that the high court could overturn state laws barring same-sex couples from marrying.

But while many top Republican names — like former California gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman — have signed off on the list, other high-profile Republican supporters of gay marriage were noticeably absent. Former Vice President Cheney — whose lesbian daughter wed last year — was not on the list, nor were former Secretary of State Colin Powell or former first lady Laura Bush.

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