On February 8, 2017, NCLR, GLAD, and Lambda Legal filed an amicus brief arguing that Louisiana’s law requiring any foreign-born person to present a certified birth certificate in order to marry was an unconstitutional infringement on the fundamental right to marry, and requesting that the court grant a preliminary injunction against enforcement of that law.

The plaintiff in the case was Viet Anh Vo, a U.S. citizen who was born in a refugee camp in Indonesia and thus did not have an official birth certificate. Vo and his fiancee were prevented from marrying in Louisiana because of this discriminatory law.

On March 22, 2017, the U.S. District Court granted Vo’s motion for a preliminary injunction. On August 8, 2017, the court permanently enjoined enforcement of the law on the ground that it unconstitutionally discriminates based on national origin and denies individuals the fundamental right to marry.