Washington, D.C. — Today Center for American Progress Executive Vice President for External Affairs Winnie Stachelberg issued the following statement reacting to the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling on the Defense of Marriage Act, United States v. Windsor:
Today the Supreme Court delivered two rulings for the history books. The Court ruled that discrimination against legally married same-sex couples violates the Constitution’s promise of equal treatment under the law. Following this ruling, all legally married couples, including same-sex couples, should be treated as married by the government in more than 1,000 federal benefits and protections—from Social Security to health insurance and even family-based immigration. And these couples should be treated equally no matter where they live. LGBT Americans won big today; however, it’s unfortunate that today’s victory came following other recent rulings striking at the heart of many Americans’ equality before the law. History will not look kindly upon many of the Roberts Court’s other rulings this term.
CAP experts available for comment
The following legal, political, and LGBT policy experts from the Center for American Progress are available for comment:
- Neera Tanden, President, Center for American Progress
- Winnie Stachelberg, Executive Vice President, External Affairs
- Andrew Blotky, Director, Legal Progress
- Ian Millhiser, Senior Policy Analyst, Constitutional Policy
- Bishop Gene Robinson, Senior Fellow
- Aisha Moodie-Mills, Advisor, LGBT Policy & Racial Justice
- Zack Ford, LGBT Editor, ThinkProgress
To speak with a CAP expert, please contact Anne Shoup at [email protected] or 202.481.7146.
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