Stacey Abrams Statement on Brian Kemp's Call for the Court to "Take Up" Marriage Equality

Press Release

Today, following Brian Kemp's statement that "marriage is between a man and a woman" and that the issue of marriage equality "will be something that the [US Supreme] court will have to take up," Democratic nominee for Governor Stacey Abrams released the following statement:

"Today, Brian Kemp revealed he still firmly opposes marriage equality even as Republicans across the country have accepted this fundamental right for millions of Americans. As governor, I will uphold the principles embedded in Obergefell and work to repeal the Georgia's constitutional amendment that bans same-sex marriage. As more fundamental rights are stripped away by the courts, I will champion protecting these basic rights of citizenship, and I will codify marriage equality into our state's laws.

Kemp has once again aligned himself with the hard-right postures that deny full citizenship to all Americans. By refusing to protect marriage equality, he is unequivocally siding with the homophobic law that denied equal protection in Georgia until 2015. I have no such hesitation about defending constitutional rights at the state and federal levels.

Rather than standing idly by as more Georgians lose their civil liberties, I will also codify protections for access to contraception, including birth control that prevents fertilization and implantation. This issue is all the more pressing given that Kemp has not just been endorsed by organizations that oppose marriage equality, but also been endorsed by an organization that opposes Plan B and IUDs.

While Republicans fall back on excuses or in the sinister fiction of states rights, the record tells the story. The courts continue to roll back protections, and Kemp agrees. He opposes abortion care, including protections for rape and incest; and as governor, he signed a bill that banned abortion before most women know they are pregnant even though Roe v. Wade was the law of the land. The notion of stare decisis has been eviscerated, and we know what is next to fall. Precedent is no longer protection for civil rights, and Brian Kemp and his record clearly demonstrate a willingness to override existing law in anticipation of judicial overreach.

Even more concerning, Kemp has praised Clarence Thomas, who wrote that the Supreme Court should reconsider "all of this court's substantive due process precedents, including Griswold, Lawrence and Obergefell" -- a reality acknowledged by Kemp in his statement today. He does not disagree with Justice Thomas -- he simply notes the court has not yet acted.

Brian Kemp has been clear about his conservative principles, which deny agency and autonomy to women or same-sex couples. He does not believe in equality in our state -- I do. If elected governor, I will repeal discriminatory laws that trample our freedoms, and codify our rights and liberties into law."

Kemp previously voted in favor of a constitutional amendment banning marriage equality in 2004, and he has praised Justice Clarence Thomas who called on the court to re-evaluate the 2015 decision. His statements this week conflict with 47 House Republicans who have voted in favor of marriage equality, and with the thousands of Georgians who have availed themselves of these rights.

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