Majority Leader Schumer Floor Remarks Ahead Of President Biden Signing The Respect For Marriage Act Into Law

Washington, D.C. –  Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) today spoke on the Senate floor ahead of the Respect for Marriage Act being signed into law by President Biden later today, which will protect the right to marriage for millions of Americans. Below are Senator Schumer’s remarks, which can also be viewed here:

Finally, this morning I want to note my tie.

I am wearing it today for two reasons: first, it is a constant reminder of one of the happiest moments of my life, the day that my daughter got married. And second, I’m wearing it because later this afternoon, President Biden will sign the Respect for Marriage Act into law.

For many Americans in same sex marriages—or who one day wish to marry their partner –  today is a day of relief and of jubilation. By passing this law, we are sending a message to LGBTQ Americans everywhere: you too deserve dignity and equality under the law.

Few bills have hit home for members on the hill quite like this one. Marriage equality is not just the right thing to do for America, it’s personal for so many of us, our staffs, our families. My daughter and her wife are beautifully, praise God, expecting their first child – my third grandchild –  next spring, and I want them to raise their child with all the love and security that every child deserves. Thanks to the dogged work by many of my colleagues—my grandchild will live in a world that will respect and honor their mothers’ marriage.

And look, nothing about the Respect for Marriage Act was inevitable. On the contrary –  it took a lot of faith and a bit of risk-taking to reach this point. When my colleagues came and asked me for a delay, I made that choice and it was because they believed –  and I believed –  that the bipartisan process could indeed work. It wasn’t a decision we took lightly, but today that gamble is paying off.

So I thank my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for making today’s signing possible. And I thank my friend Senator Feinstein who originally authored this landmark bill.

Because of them, and because of the millions of Americans out there who pushed for change, history will be made at the White House later today.

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