[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 6]
[House]
[Page 8263]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     WESTERN NEW YORK'S PRIDE WEEK

  (Mr. HIGGINS asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. HIGGINS. Mr. Speaker, yesterday I joined the Pride Center of 
Western New York to celebrate the LGBTQ community and kick off Buffalo 
Pride Week. Last week Niagara Falls Mayor Paul Dyster, Councilwoman 
Kristen Grandinetti, and the Rainbow City Coalition raised the rainbow 
flag for the first time at city hall in Niagara Falls.
  Western New York's Pride Week comes at a particularly historic time. 
The Supreme Court is expected to rule soon on whether the Constitution 
guarantees same-sex couples the right to marry. I believe that it does. 
I was proud to join 211 of my colleagues in Congress in filing an 
amicus brief urging the Court to find such a right in its ruling.
  Mr. Speaker, marriage equality is one of the important components of 
a larger effort to ensure that everyone has the same basic rights as 
each and every American. I congratulate the Pride Center of Western New 
York and the Rainbow City Coalition for their community efforts this 
week and advocacy for equality each and every day, and I hope next year 
Pride Week will celebrate a Supreme Court decision that honors the 
right of all Americans to marry the person they love.

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