Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand issued the following statement today after joining more than 200 other members of Congress to file an amicus brief in the United States Supreme Court in U.S. v. Edith Schlain Windsor, a landmark challenge to Section 3 of the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, known as DOMA:
“I am proud to join this historic effort led by a broad and growing coalition of Americans demanding an end to this discrimination. Already, first and second circuit federal appeals courts have deemed DOMA unconstitutional, and I hope the Supreme Court will do the same.
“Regardless of the Court’s ultimate decision, Congress will need to do its job, too. It is well past time for the federal government to recognize the marriages of all loving and committed couples and finally put the discriminatory DOMA policy into the dustbin of history.”
Senator Gillibrand, who helped lead the effort in the Senate to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” is an original co-sponsor and leading advocate for the Respect for Marriage Act.