Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, one of the Senate’s leading voices for marriage equality, issued the following statement today after the First Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) unconstitutional:
“Today’s ruling is a major step forward to end the discrimination that is currently enshrined into U.S. law. Marriage is the true foundation for strong families. Every loving, committed couple deserves the basic human right to get married, start a family, and have access to all the same rights and privileges that my husband and I enjoy. No politician should stand in the way of this fact.
“If Democrats and Republicans can come together to do what’s right in New York, I know we can do the same in Congress to do what’s right for all of America. Now is the time to act on the federal level by repealing this discriminatory and unconstitutional law.”
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.