David Boies (you remember him as Al Gore’s lawyer during the disputed 2000 Florida recount) explains his work with Ted Olson (you remember him as George W. Bush’s top lawyer before the U.S. Supreme Court) to overturn the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act with a federal lawsuit in today’s Wall Street Journal:

“There are those who sincerely believe that homosexuality is inconsistent with their religion — and the First Amendment guarantees their freedom of belief. However, the same First Amendment, as well as the Due Process and Equal Protection clauses, preclude the enshrinement of their religious-based disapproval in state law.

“Gays and lesbians are our brothers and sisters, our teachers and doctors, our friends and neighbors, our parents and children. It is time, indeed past time, that we accord them the basic human right to marry the person they love. It is time, indeed past time, that our Constitution fulfill its promise of equal protection and due process for all citizens by now eliminating the last remnant of centuries of misguided state discrimination against gays and lesbians.”