Today, Congressman Jerrold Nadler (NY-10), Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property and the Internet and senior member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, delivered the following statement on the House Floor urging the United States Supreme Court to rule in favor of full marriage equality for same-sex couples.

“Mr. Speaker, I rise to express the profound hope that the Supreme Court of the United States, in its upcoming decision, will strike down laws that prohibit same-sex couples from marrying and to ensure that all states recognize lawful marriages performed elsewhere.

“These four cases – Obergefell v. Hodges, Tanco v. Haslam, DeBoer v. Snyder, and Bourke v. Beshear – are an opportunity for the Court to end legal discrimination against committed gay and lesbian couples and their children and to reestablish marriage as a civil right, one that is “fundamental to our very existence and survival,” as it was called by Justice Warren in Loving v. Virginia in 1967. As a country, we can no longer allow state governments to burden their citizens by refusing to grant them marriage licenses based on who they love.

“Since my earliest days in the New York State Assembly, I have fought alongside the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community for equality under the law. I spoke out in opposition when, in 1996, Congress for the first time created a federal definition of marriage with the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) – solely for the purpose of excluding gays and lesbians from receiving federal marriage benefits, and have long led efforts to remove this insidious law from the books, from authoring the Respect for Marriage Act (RMA) to leading the Congressional amicus briefs in both Windsor and the current marriage equality cases before the Court. Yet even a full repeal of DOMA would still leave individuals vulnerable to continued state discrimination, which is why there must be a guaranteed right to access the benefits of marriage regardless of where a couple may reside. 

“When my constituent and friend Edith Windsor began dating Thea Spyer in 1965, and accepted her proposal in 1967, she was not thinking about how the government would view her relationship – she was thinking about the joy and happiness that comes from beginning to shape a life with a partner she loved. Forty years after that proposal they were able to legally marry in Canada, outside of the country and state they called home.

“No one in a free and just country should be forced to leave their home, travelling away from friends and family across state lines, in order to get married. Nor should anyone be faced with the humiliation of being denied governments benefits, the tragedy of being barred from a partner’s hospital bedside, or the indignity of being refused any of the other thousands of benefits that come with marriage that millions of Americans access every day because a state refuses to recognize their otherwise lawful marriage. 

“Denying recognition of same sex relationships signals to the couple, their family and all others that their bond and love is less deserving of respect – harming the individuals and creating divisions within the fabric of our society.

“After Thea’s death, Edith bravely fought all the way to the Supreme Court, in United States v. Windsor, to establish what so many of us have known for decades: that laws that deny recognition of legal same sex marriages serve no legitimate purpose, stigmatize and shame American families, and are a deprivation of the equal liberty guarantee of the Constitution’s Fifth Amendment. It is time for the long arc of history to continue to bend towards justice and for similarly discriminatory state laws to be struck down once and for all.

“Should the Court rule for equality there will be no losers – no one will be harmed by the granting and recognition of same sex marriages. Those claiming otherwise are either promoting discredited claims about the dangers of gays and lesbians, or falsely believe they have a right to involve themselves in the private affairs of others. More than seventy percent of Americans already live in jurisdictions that provide for same sex marriages. It is unconscionable that anyone would propose to continue to deny universal access and recognition, as well as the associated safety and security, to these families.

“The Court has the immediate responsibility to expand upon its decision in Windsor to ensure that state laws comply with established basic constitutional protections and that all Americans are given the equal respect and support they deserve. Much as in Loving v. Virginia, which also rolled back government enforced marriage discrimination, outdated prejudices and intolerance cannot be allowed to rule the day. It is time that we make the Constitution’s promise of equality a reality for gay and lesbian couples throughout the nation.

“Regardless of the forthcoming decision, we have a long way to go to ensure full equality for LGBT Americans, who can still be fired from their jobs, denied housing and turned away from stores simply for being who they are. We must work together to pass comprehensive nondiscrimination legislation to protect these vulnerable Americans.”

###