Apple and Facebook Lobby Supreme Court for Gay Marriage

By Barbara E. Hernandez

| Wednesday, Feb 27, 2013 | Updated 10:33 AM PDT

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Apple and Facebook Lobby Supreme Court for Gay Marriage

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SAN JOSE, CA - OCTOBER 23: Apple CEO Tim Cook speaks during an Apple special event at the historic California Theater on October 23, 2012 in San Jose, California. Apple is expected to introduce a smaller, less expensive version of the iPad. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)

Apple, Facebook and other tech companies are joining gay-rights activists lobbying the U.S. Supreme Court to make gay marriage legal across the country.

The justices will hear arguments March 26 on California’s Proposition 8, the 2008 initiative that stopped gay marriage in the state, according to Bloomberg News. Previously Apple gave $100,000 to fight Proposition 8, according to AppleInsider.

Other companies such as Intel, Zynga, Xerox and Oracle, have also signed up to help argue in a brief that bans on gay marriage harm the workplace and can hurt recruiting efforts. “No matter how welcoming the corporate culture, it cannot overcome the societal stigma institutionalized by Proposition 8 and similar laws,” the companies will argue.

On the flip side, there are more than 200 companies including Goldman Sachs, that will argue that marriage is defined as a heterosexual union, something also known as the Defense of Marriage Act.

So why do tech companies appear to be more progressive on gay rights and investment bankers tend not to be? It may be that their politics may differ, with several tech leaders having met with President Barack Obama and helping his campaign.