Mark Takano: “Well, I thank the gentlelady from New Jersey for yielding to me during this Special Order, and I want to give time for…”

“Well, I thank the gentlelady from New Jersey for yielding to me during this Special Order, and I want to give time for us to get set up with our graphics. Mr. Speaker, our Nation is on the cusp of correcting a longstanding injustice, an injustice that has been embedded into our national psyche and, frankly, our laws for more than 200 years. It is an injustice that says LGBT Americans shouldn't receive the same rights as everyone else. It is an injustice that the law in many States still says it doesn't matter how committed LGBT relationships are or how much in love they are. It is an injustice in the law that says LGBT Americans cannot and should not be able to get married. The law could not be more wrong, Mr. Speaker. Our Constitution says that no person shall be denied equal protection of the laws, and that should include LGBT Americans. To say that it doesn't matter how committed same-sex relationships are is an insult to the thousands of same-sex relationships that have been going strong for 30, 40, even 50 years. Gender and sexual orientation should not matter when it comes to the right to marry. What should matter is what is in one's heart. Now the Supreme Court can correct this injustice next week, as it is set to hear oral arguments in a case that could make marriage equality the law of the land. Now, I have never been one to count my chickens before they hatch, but I believe that the Supreme Court will rule on the right side of history.…”