On the recordDecember 7, 2011
Madam Speaker, in 1996 Congress passed the so-called Defense of Marriage Act, or DOMA. It was then, as it still is today, an affront to our country's values--the values we hold true as established in the Declaration of Independence, those of life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness, and of equality and fairness for all. On October 7 of this year, I held a field forum in Chicago, along with my colleague Jan Schakowsky, to hear from legal experts and gay and lesbian couples about the real-world harm caused by DOMA. The findings were startling. I ask that the clerk enter all of their testimony into the Record to formally document this collection of unfairness and inequity, burdens that are imposed on normal Americans who are just trying to live normal lives. It is incomprehensible that today we are still dealing with such injustice. Congress created this injustice, and Congress should correct it. Let the Record reflect these sentiments. ____________________
