[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 8]
[House]
[Page 10324]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           MARRIAGE EQUALITY

  (Mr. KILDEE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. KILDEE. Mr. Speaker, 2 years ago, I stood on the steps of the 
Supreme Court as the discriminatory Defense of Marriage Act was struck 
down.
  On a beautiful day in June, much like today, I stood there with the 
words ``Equal Justice Under Law'' inscribed on the top of the Court and 
celebrated a truly historic decision that finally, after decades of 
injustice, granted LGBT Americans the right to have their marriages 
recognized by the Federal Government.
  That day was even more important to me because I stood on those steps 
with many of my close friends and many of my staff whom I deeply care 
about, many of whom for the first time had their basic humanity 
recognized by the highest court in the land.
  I am looking forward again, in the next coming days, to stand on 
those same steps as the Supreme Court hopefully rules that every 
American has the constitutional right to marry the person they love.
  I am optimistic and hopeful that marriage equality will soon be the 
law of the land. As a vice chair of the LGBT Equality Caucus, I am 
committed to continuing to provide Federal policies that recognize the 
rights of all Americans, regardless of their sexual orientation or 
gender identity.

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