An Open Letter to Officers of the Court in the US

If you are in the US and you are a judge at any level, or an attorney-at-law (whether a prosecutor, criminal defense attorney, civil law attorney), or even facing jury duty, this message is for you.

You are needed to help bring about justice.

There may be laws on the books in your jurisdiction that need to be overturned or removed. It is ridiculous that there is still discrimination not only permitted by law, but enshrined in law, against consenting adults simply because they love each other. The basic freedom of association that allows consenting adults to love each other how they mutually agree has been restricted by various unjust and unconstitutional laws throughout history. Although some of these restrictions have been removed by the Supreme Court of the United States, even those may still remain in your state codes or statutes due to legislative inertia or as mean-spirit statements or even in the hopes of a reversal by a subsequent Court ruling. It is clear that momentum is on the side of civil rights and has been for a long time. We must move forward in securing the rights of all adults.



There should be no laws left on the books in your jurisdiction that criminalize or discriminate against any of the following, but if there are, you should disregard them and not enforce or apply them, but rather if at all possible, overturn them as unconstitutional or mount a defense on constitutional grounds:

• autoeroticism or masturbation
• interracial affection, sex, relationships, cohabitation, or marriages
• same-sex and same-gender affection, sex, relationships, cohabitation, or marriages
• nonmonogamous affection, sex, relationships, cohabitation, or marriages
• open relationships and open marriages
• consanguineous affection, sex, relationships, cohabitation, or marriages
• asexual or aromantic relationships, cohabitation, and marriages
• casual sex between two or more consenting adults 
• BDSM between consenting adults
• selling, buying, giving, owning, or using adult/sex toys, devices, aids
• observing, with their consent, consenting adults engaging in affection, sex, or BDSM 
• creating, possessing, or viewing photographic and video recordings of consenting adults nude or in sexual or autoerotic situations
• unmarried cohabitation, whether temporary or permanent, between two or more consenting adults
• marriage, civil unions, or domestic partnerships between two or more consenting adults
• physical affection, "sodomy," or sexual acts between two or more consenting adults
• sex therapy

There common element in all of these is consent as opposed to nonconsent.

Doing this is the right thing to do. Nobody should be criminalized or discriminated against for sharing love, sex, residence, or marriage, or any of those things without the others.

Even though there is no good reason to keep or enforce such laws, there will still be opposition to cleaning up the books. A simple and effective way for an officer of the court or a juror to respond as long as those laws exist in their jurisdiction is to say something along the lines of:

"Law enforcement resources should not be wasted in pointless attempts to keep consenting adults from loving each other how they mutually agree. This law is unconstitutional."

It's that simple. Don't prosecute or allow prosecution. Defend against prosecutions.

Please do the right and just thing and stand up for basic human rights and treating all adults as equal under the law.

The US Supreme Court has ruled over and over again for the rights of consenting adults to have their relationships, including their sex lives and their marriages. It is inevitable that any law against consenting adults having these freedoms of association will be ruled unconstitutional.

Court precedent states consensual sex is part of the liberty protected by due process under the Fourteenth Amendment.

Court precedent states when the government intrudes on choices concerning family living arrangements, the usual deference to the legislature is inappropriate, and the Court must examine carefully the importance of the governmental interests advanced and the extent to which they are served by the challenged regulation.

Court precedent states marriage is a fundamental civil right.

Court precedent states that adults can't be denied their right to marry, to  define and express their identity, with the 14th Amendment extending to certain personal choices central to individual dignity and autonomy, including intimate choices that define personal identity and beliefs, including the fundamental right to marry. Denying this right puts people at odds with society, denies them countless benefits of marriage, and introduces instability into their relationships for no justifiable reason. An individual can invoke a right to constitutional protection when he or she is harmed, even if the broader public disagrees and even if the legislature refuses to act. Allowing those denied  their right to marry to marry would pose no risk of harm to themselves or third parties.

Freedom of association for consenting adults is a basic Constitutional right. Just as there is no good reason to ban interracial or same-gender relationships or marriage, there is no good reason to ban polyamorous relationships or polygamous marriages, or consanguinamorous relationships or consanguineous marriages. There is no good reason to limit sex or marriage to narrowly exogamous, monogamous heterosexual couples.

Freedom of religion is a basic Constitutional right. One group’s religion should not deny the rights of other consenting adults to be together or marry. Conversely, some religions recognize or promote relationships or marriages currently banned under laws in most or all fifty states, depending on the marriages.

In recent years, the US Supreme Court took baby steps forward towards full marriage equality. But there is still a long way to go and still wasteful resistance to progress. There have been one or two bumps in the courtroom progress, but for the most part, the courts have been moving this issue forward.

Nobody should fear being arrested and imprisoned for having a consensual relationship with other adults.

Nobody should be denied the freedom to marry other consenting adults.

There are people who love each other, who have been living as spouses, even have children together, who should not be prosecuted, discriminated against, or otherwise denied their rights.

Let’s get on the right side of history sooner rather than later, and put the hate, bigotry, and bullying behind us. Let's support equal human rights, equal access and protection, and basic fairness. Nobody should be discriminated against in the law or in a courtroom or a marriage registry because of their consensual relationships.

If you are an attorney, lawyer, work a law firm, or otherwise can offer some legal advice, assistance, or representation in a way that will advance the cause of equal rights as they pertain to relationships and marriage, please contact us as fullmarriageequality at protonmail dot com.

An Open Letter to Legislators

The US Supreme Court Should Rule for Equality

If You Get Called to Jury Duty