President Obama is hailing the Supreme Court’s decision to strike down the Defense of Marriage Act as a major victory, not just for LGBT couples, but for people across the nation. Read his full statement below:
“I applaud the Supreme Court’s decision to strike down the Defense of Marriage Act. This was discrimination enshrined in law. It treated loving, committed gay and lesbian couples as a separate and lesser class of people. The Supreme Court has righted that wrong, and our country is better off for it. We are a people who declared that we are all created equal – and the love we commit to one another must be equal as well.
This ruling is a victory for couples who have long fought for equal treatment under the law; for children whose parents’ marriages will now be recognized, rightly, as legitimate; for families that, at long last, will get the respect and protection they deserve; and for friends and supporters who have wanted nothing more than to see their loved ones treated fairly and have worked hard to persuade their nation to change for the better.
So we welcome today’s decision, and I’ve directed the Attorney General to work with other members of my Cabinet to review all relevant federal statutes to ensure this decision, including its implications for Federal benefits and obligations, is implemented swiftly and smoothly.
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On an issue as sensitive as this, knowing that Americans hold a wide range of views based on deeply held beliefs, maintaining our nation’s commitment to religious freedom is also vital. How religious institutions define and consecrate marriage has always been up to those institutions. Nothing about this decision – which applies only to civil marriages – changes that.
The laws of our land are catching up to the fundamental truth that millions of Americans hold in our hearts: when all Americans are treated as equal, no matter who they are or whom they love, we are all more free.”
The president also placed a congratulatory phone call to HRC’s Chad Griffin, who founded the American Foundation for Equal Rights (AFER) to overturn Prop. 8, and the plaintiffs. Watch it below.
Dakotahgeo
This is a victory that President Obama could not have cured with an Executive Order, and I am so glad he didn’t. NOW we have truly won on our own, with the SCOTUS backing us all the way! No more turning back!
Charli Girl
Thank you MrPresident for your continued support!!!!! Now go sign that doggone EXEC.ORDER!!!!
Congrats to all my sisters and brothers!!!! What a day….(exhaling)
Dakotahgeo
@Charli Girl: CharliGirl!! Howdy. I’m a bit perplexed here… why do we need an Executive Order now? Please ‘splain to a wild Norwegian, lolol.
2eo
My understanding was that an EO would have triggered blowback potentially pushing for an actual amendment to the constitution.
Or am I mistaken.
Dakotahgeo
@2eo: Aha! Yeah, that might just be the case, I don’t know. But I sure am happy about today’s outcome. Free Depends and Kleenex for the Grumpy Ol’ Pottiemouths today!
tjr101
Thank you Mr. President for giving us Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan!