Sheila Jackson Lee: “I thank the sponsors of this legislation and the leadership of our chairman, and, as well, the millions of families that…”

“I thank the sponsors of this legislation and the leadership of our chairman, and, as well, the millions of families that are, in fact, families. My good friend from Ohio started out with the litany of violence, of which none of us stands for, we abhor violence. We believe in the freedom of speech and the right to petition. There are countless acts of violence against those who are seeking reproductive freedom and countless acts of violence against the LGBTQ community. Listen to the violence against transgender parents just trying to help their children, or the violence that started in the early days of this community seeking their freedom and their rights. I know it well from the LGBTQ+ community in Houston and the Caucus and the leaders who started out in those early years. I know that they suffered from just the simple position that they were different. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the Constitution of the United States of America because that is what the Respect for Marriage Act exemplifies. It exemplifies a recognition of the Constitution. As the legislation says, the full credit and faith to marriage equality. I believe that our friends have gotten it wrong. There is a constitutional right to privacy. And morally there is a right to love who you love and to establish a family as you desire. It is horrific to believe that with the elimination of the precedent of 50 years of Roe v. Wade, one Justice decided to say, wait, there may be more.…”