Dozens of prominent Republicans have signed amicus briefs in support of gay marriage to be filed Thursday with the Supreme Court, NBC News reported. The high court will hear oral arguments in late March on California’s Proposition 8 gay marriage ban. Seventy-five Republicans have signed the brief, which argues same-sex marriage promotes healthy two-parent homes for children and promotes conservative values of "limited government and maximizing individual freedom," The New York Times reported. The signers include former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, former New Jersey Gov. Christine Todd Whitman and three other governors. Former members of former President George W. Bush’s cabinet and California GOP gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman are also on the list. “The fact that more and more Republicans are coming out in favor of gay marriage simply confirms how dramatic the shift in public opinion has been — and that is a fact that likely is of great significance to Justice Kennedy,” considered the Supreme Court's swing vote, Harvard law professor Michael Klarman wrote NBC News. A spokesman for the National Organization for Marriage countered that "none of these people are actively in politics" because they knew "supporting same-sex marriage will end your career if you’re a Republican."
