Hoyer Floor Remarks in Support of the Respect for Marriage Act

This article was featured on December 8, 2022 by Congressman Steny H. Hoyer (MD-05) in his newsletter.

Congressman Steny H. Hoyer (MD-05) delivered remarks on the House Floor this morning in support of H.R. 8404, the Respect for Marriage Act.

“I'm going to miss this [magic] one minute, let me tell you that. This bill was passed with a very bipartisan vote in this House this past July. I rise in strong support of the Respect for Marriage Act, which this bill has been slightly amended and sent to us. Like many Americans across the country, I was sickened and deeply sorry by the violent attack on an LGBTQ nightclub in Colorado Springs [just] a few weeks ago. It was a manifestation of hate. A manifestation of prejudice. A manifestation of bigotry. A manifestation of thinking one is better than the other. That somehow we are not all equal in the eyes of our Constitution and in the eyes of God. It was a somber reminder of how safe spaces still are not safe for so many.

“One of the Club Q survivors, a young man named Anthony, said that as he lay wounded on the floor, his first thought, not unsurprisingly, which he believed may be his last thought, was of his husband of 14 years, Jeremy. What the Justices said some years ago, what we have said in our legislation, is that who you love is your choice.

“One of the first votes I cast in the Maryland State Senate in 1967 was the repeal of the miscegenation statutes. The Supreme Court that same year ruled those statutes unconstitutional. Because a Black male wanted to marry a white woman or white woman wanted to marry a Black male or an Asian or some other ethnicity or race, that somehow we would interpose our own judgment, denying that all people are created equal, endowed by their Creator, not by us, not by the Constitution, by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, among those life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Certainly, the pursuit of happiness means that you can love whom you choose. The love that Anthony felt for his husband in that moment reflected a basic emotional instinct that makes us all human.

“Madam Speaker, I rise today for the millions of people like Anthony and Jeremy who deserve to continue living proudly and happily and safely in same-sex and interracial marriages. In doing so, I stand for all Americans who cherish the liberty, equality, and justice promised to them under our Constitution.

“Last summer, the Supreme Court, largely the Republican faction of the Supreme Court, they will resent that phrase, I'm sure, violated that sacred promise with their radical ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson, breaking nearly 50 years of precedent, contrary to what some of those justices said to the United States Senate their promise would be. They deprived women of their constitutional right to reproductive health care, to control of their own bodies, the right to life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness. In the process they also opened the door for future challenges to Obergefell v. Hodges, United States v. Windsor, Loving v. Virginia which dealt with you couldn't marry the person of another color, Obergefell and Windsor precedents protecting same-sex marriage has stood for seven and nine years respectively. Not half the century the others had, but the same proposition. It's not your business.

“I am shocked that conservatives who have a libertarian bent believe that somehow we ought to get involved in this. So I would urge all my colleagues to support this. I remember the most conservative member of the State Senate in which I served for 12 years got up talking about a woman's right to choose said ‘it's not my business. it's not the government's business. it's not the legislators, it's my business, it's her business.’

“The Loving precedent protecting interracial marriage stood for 55 years. Justice Thomas perhaps would opine that it is not a right that is found in the constitution. After the Supreme Court disregarded decades of precedent to overturn Roe v. Wade, we have no reason to expect they won't do the same to marriage equality. We believe that all men are created equal and all women, men and women together.

"Americans have grown accustomed knowing that they have a constitutional right to equal marriage. Those living in same sex and interracial marriages should not have to live with the fear that their government could rescind legal recognition of their families at any moment. That's not America. That's not content of character.  As Martin Luther King urged us to pursue, character. They must be able to live confidently knowing that their marriages will be recognized wherever they go in America: no matter the city, county, or state. Our democratic House majority knows that no state ought to be able to deny full faith and credit to legal marriage between consenting American adults. A lot of Republicans agree with us. This is not a partisan issue. I hope it's not a partisan issue in this vote. It certainly was not a partisan issue when we passed it to the Senate.  It was not a partisan vote in the United States Senate. We know the best way to protect that most basic right to marriage equality is to enshrine it in federal statute. That's why we took swift action last summer to pass the Respect for Marriage Act through the House and why I'm proud to bring it to the Floor again today.  

"I want to thank Chairman Nadler, I want to thank the staff of the committee. I want to thank Representative Cicilline and all the co-chairs of the LGBTQ Equality Caucus. But this is not a caucus issue, this is a country issue; this is a constitutional issue. This is a fairness issue. This is justice for all. I want to thank Chairman Ruiz and Democratic Caucus Chairman Jeffries who has been very involved in this bill. Chairwoman Beatty.  All have worked hard on this bill. Similarly, I appreciate the House Republicans who joined us in supporting this bill. A significant number of House Republicans. I would hope all Republicans would do it on the theory that this is not our business. That people are free to make their own decisions. Not government make these decisions.  Also I want to thank the 62 Senators, including 12 Republicans who came together to advance this critical legislation.  

"I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, all 435 of us, to stand up and say this is a free country. It is a country that believes equality for all. This is a country where the representatives of our Constitution, our Declaration, and of our laws would stand up united in saying, you are free to love who you choose. It is not our choice. I urge my colleagues to support this legislation and yield back the balance of my time."

Click here for a link to the video.