“Today marks a great victory for the LGBT community, for all Americans, and for the dream our nation’s founders had when they first wrote that we are all created equal. Today the Supreme Court ruled that the laws of this nation apply equally to all families – to my family, and to so many others in the State of New York and around the country.

Because that’s what this case was about. Not about abstract concepts, but real people. People like Edie Windsor, who after suffering incredible loss had the courage to stand up against great injustice. Boys and girls all across America, growing up seeing the highest court affirm that they are just as good, just as deserving of love, and just as much a part of this nation as anyone else.

Those who stand in the way of justice fail to understand something fundamental about the American people. We are a nation founded on the belief that equality is not a gift to be granted or taken away, but an inexorable part of what makes us human.

We believe that everyone has the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness – and that means the right to love, to build a life and a home and a family.

While our work is far from over, today is a powerful reminder that while the history of this nation may have moments of darkness, it has been a strong and steady march towards light, towards equality, and towards justice for all.”

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