[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 8]
[House]
[Page 10591]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                            EQUALITY FOR ALL

  (Mr. HIGGINS asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. HIGGINS. Mr. Speaker, in a historic decision yesterday, the 
Supreme Court rightly ruled that all married couples, regardless of 
gender of the spouses, are deserving of equal protections and rights 
under the law. In doing so, they recognize what 13 States, including my 
home State of New York, already knows: that a family is a family and 
that love is love.
  Our Nation was founded on the basic principles of freedom and 
equality, and any law that discriminates against one group of 
individuals is an unjust law; and injustice anywhere is a threat to 
justice everywhere.
  Mr. Speaker, the next step is in Congress's hand. We must bring to 
the floor and pass Congressman Jerry Nadler's Respect for Marriage Act. 
It is time to get rid of this discriminatory law once and for all and 
bring us one step closer to full marriage equality.

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