[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 109 (Wednesday, June 25, 2025)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E620]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    CELEBRATING THE TEN-YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF THE OBERGEFELL MARRIAGE 
                            EQUALITY RULING

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                          HON. DANNY K. DAVIS

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 25, 2025

  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commemorate the 
ten-year anniversary of Obergefell v. Hodges, a landmark U.S. Supreme 
Court case that affirmed marriage equality nationwide on June 26, 2015. 
This ruling positively impacted the lives of millions of LGBTQIA+ 
Americans and serves as a significant milestone toward equal rights for 
all. I wish to honor the legacies of Jim Obergefell, his late husband 
John Arthur, and all the couples who brought the battle for marriage 
equality to the steps of the United States Supreme Court.
  Furthermore, I would like to honor the incredible activists--Marsha 
P. Johnson, Bayard Rustin, Audre Lorde and Harvey Milk--who played 
instrumental roles in fighting for LGBTQIA+ rights decades before this 
case reached the Supreme Court. To this day, their legacies inspire 
Americans to advocate, celebrate, and respect the differences we have 
as people to promote equal rights. It is fitting that this anniversary 
falls during Pride Month, a time to recognize the strength and 
perseverance of the LGBTQIA+ community as well as a call to action for 
equality.
  Unfortunately, the Trump Administration and extremist Republicans are 
attacking LGBTQIA+ rights around the country. These extremists are 
banning books that feature LGBTQIA+ characters from schools, 
eliminating the suicide prevention hotline for LGBTQIA+ individuals, 
rolling back civil rights protections, and undermining the health, 
military service, and education of LGBTQIA+ Americans. House 
Republicans recently passed a dangerous bill out of Committee that 
threatens to jail parents and doctors offering medically-affirming care 
to trans youth. Policymakers in Washington should not make private 
health decisions for Americans. LGBTQIA+ individuals are humans and 
deserve equal civil rights protections under the law, autonomy, and 
dignity. I reject extremist efforts to promote hate and harm based on 
who one loves or how they self-identify.
  In the face of these intensified efforts to hurt LGBTQIA+ 
individuals, I promise to continue to fight for equal rights for 
LGBTQIA+ Americans. We must protect same-sex marriages and civil rights 
laws for LGBTQIA+ individuals. We must enact the Equality Act that 
would amend the Civil Right Act of 1964 to prohibit discrimination 
based on gender identity and sexual orientation. We must enact my 
bill--the John Lewis Every Child Deserves a Family Act--that would 
prohibit any entity that receives federal child welfare funds from 
discriminating against children, youth, or prospective adoptive or 
foster parents based on religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender 
identity, or marital status. I am committed to continuing to support 
legislation that protects the rights of LGBTQIA+ individuals because 
everyone deserves the right to be who they are, free from 
discrimination.
  Celebration is an act of resistance. In the face of an administration 
that wants to reinvigorate injustice and discrimination against 
LGBTQIA+ people, it is essential to celebrate our country's landmark 
marriage equality ruling and Pride month and to commit ourselves to 
ensuring that ``We the People'' includes all Americans.

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