article_snippet: "bans on same-sex marriage challenged in these cases impermissibly exclude lesbian and gay couples from the rights, responsibilities and status of civil marriage," Solicitor General Donald B. Verrilli Jr. wrote.
article_snippet: Solicitor General Donald B. Verrilli Jr. said the states have "burdened petitioners in every aspect of life that marriage touches, from the mundane to the profound.
article_snippet: Verrilli said  the laws "impose concrete harms on same-sex couples and send the inescapable message that same-sex couples and same-sex couples children are second-class families, unworthy of the recognition and benefits that opposite-sex couples take for granted.
article_snippet: " bans on same-sex marriage, Verrilli said, "cannot be reconciled with the fundamental constitutional guarantee of equal protection of the laws.
article_snippet: Verrilli said there is "no adequate justification for such a discriminatory and injurious exercise of state control.
article_snippet: Verrilli stressed that throughout history lesbian and gay people have encountered numerous barriers that have "prevented them from full, free, and equal participation in American life.