The nation's largest professional
organization for lawyers approved Tuesday a resolution urging states
to legalize gay marriage.
At its annual meeting in San Francisco,
the American Bar Association (ABA) voted in favor of the measure
sponsored by the New York State Bar Association (NYSBA).
The resolution reads: “RESOLVED, That
the American Bar Association urges state, territorial, and tribal
governments to eliminate all of their legal barriers to civil
marriage between two persons of the same sex who are otherwise
eligible to marry.”
Stephen P. Younger, president of the
NYSBA, called the ABA's action “historic.”
“NYSBA has been a leader in
advocating that same-sex couples be allowed to marry, and it will
continue the fight until this goal is achieved both in New York and
across the country,” he added.
Younger told the AP that the resolution
was approved overwhelmingly.
“With today's resolution, the ABA
embraces our nation's promise of liberty and equal protection under
the law and signals a growing consensus in America's legal profession
that marriage is a fundamental right that belongs to every citizen,”
Evan Wolfson, executive director of Freedom to Marry, a group
dedicated to marriage equality, said.
Previously, the ABA approved a measure
that called the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) unfair, but
stopped short from advocating for gay marriage.