Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, next week, we will commemorate the life and accomplishments of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. A revolutionary civil rights leader, Dr. King's movement combated the systematic discrimination against African Americans, but Dr. King fought hard not only for equal rights for African Americans. He fought equally hard for equality for all in this great Nation. So it is altogether fitting and appropriate that we honor him and his extraordinary life, but it is equally appropriate to honor him by ending what is still legal discrimination in this country-- discrimination against the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community--because denying civil rights to someone based on a person's orientation is equally inherently wrong. We are all Americans, regardless of whom we love. Why does someone's orientation affect his or her legal status in this country? Every day that we continue allowing discrimination against the LGBT community is another day that justice is delayed. I am reminded that when Lincoln spoke at Gettysburg, he said that four score and 7 years ago we formed a Nation based on the notion that all were created equal, and they were in a war to determine whether a Nation so conceived could long endure. But I think what we can take from that is the realization that we have to ask ourselves every so often, did we really mean it back then when we said that all were created equal?…”