Apple files statement with US Supreme Court backing gay marriage

Apple is among 60 companies filing a brief with the US Supreme Court in support of gay marriage nationwide. The iPhone maker will argue that gay marriage bans in 41 states are a detriment to workplace morale, harm employees and undermine recruiting, according to Bloomberg. The brief comes at a time when the Supreme Court will hear arguments about the constitutionality of California's Proposition 8, which banned gay marriage in the state in 2008.

Apple, along with companies as diverse as Facebook, Nike, Office Depot, AIG, Barnes & Noble and more, hope its brief will spur President Barack Obama's administration to announce today that it will urge the Supreme Court to back gay marriage nationwide.

The 60-strong conglomerate of companies are joined by another group of over 200 companies, led by Goldman Sachs Group, which will urge the Supreme Court to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act, a law which defines marriage as a heterosexual union and bars gay couples from receiving the same federal tax breaks that heterosexual couples receive.