CONGRESSMAN GREGORY W. MEEKS STATEMENT ON THE SUPREME COURT LANDMARK DECISIONS ON THE DEFENSE OF MARRIAGE ACT AND PROPOSITION 8

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CONGRESSMAN GREGORY W. MEEKS STATEMENT ON THE SUPREME COURT LANDMARK DECISIONS ON THE DEFENSE OF MARRIAGE ACT AND PROPOSITION 8

Excerpt: Americans of good will in my district and across the land should welcome these two huge steps forward in our nation’s journey toward a more perfect union.

WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman Gregory W. Meeks (NY) released the following statement today after the Supreme Court ruled on the Defense of Marriage Act and California's Proposition 8:

“I applaud the historic decisions the Supreme Court issued today regarding marriage equality. The Court struck down Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). This provision defines marriage as the union of a man and a woman for purposes of federal benefits, which meant it prohibited married same gender couples from access to nearly a thousand federal benefits, including the right to file joint federal tax returns, spousal insurance coverage for federal employees, Social Security survivors’ benefits, and sponsor a spouse for a visa or green card.

“In the majority opinion, Justice Kennedy wrote: ‘By seeking to displace this protection and treating those persons as living in marriages less respected than others, the federal statute is in violation of the Fifth Amendment.’ Today’s decision ends federal discrimination against married same-sex couples now and forever in states where same=sex marriage is legal.

“In the second ruling, the Supreme Court refused to consider an appeal brought by proponents of Proposition 8, a 2008 voter initiative that banned same-sex marriage in California in reaction to a ruling of the California State Supreme Court granting same-gender couples to right to marry. A federal trial judge ruled that voters could not withdraw a constitutional right that had been established by the state’s highest court. The Supreme Court ruled today that Proposition 8 supporters could not supplant the authority of California state official who declined to appeal the judge decision and therefore did not have legal standing bring a challenge before the U.S. Supreme Court. This remarkable decision clears the way for California, the nation’s most populous state, to join New York, eleven other states and the District of Columbia in allowing same-sex marriage. Think of what this must mean for thousands of Americans who previously had been denied the right to marry whomever they love.

"While these two historic rulings revolve around marriage equality, they pivot on a reaffirmation of the principle of equal liberty and equal protection under the law. Americans of good will in my district and across the land should welcome these two huge steps forward in our nation’s journey toward a “‘more perfect union.’” [END]