Norton Says Brilliant LGBTQ Movement Paved the Way for Today’s Historic Same-Sex Marriage Decision, ENDA Should Be Next Priority
WASHINGTON, D.C.—Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), a member of the Supreme Court bar and a tenured Georgetown University law professor, issued the following statement on today's Supreme Court 5-4 decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, ruling that the 14th Amendment requires all states to license marriages between same-sex couples.
"The LGBTQ community led the way with a brilliant movement in getting 37 states and the District of Columbia to recognize same-sex marriage, even before the Supreme Court followed suit today. The Court cleared the deck in today's decision, first by holding marriage to be a fundamental right, requiring states to issue licenses to same-sex couples, as well as requiring states to recognize lawful marriages from other states. Importantly, the Court found same-sex marriage to be a matter of liberty, intimate choice, and individual dignity, protected by the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment. Justice Anthony Kennedy, writing for the Court, went further in finding a guarantee under the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment, citing Loving v. Virginia, which invalidated the prohibition on interracial marriage.
"Today's decision for same-sex marriage is so unequivocal that it should encourage further action that is much-needed for full equality for the LGBTQ community. The Congress should begin right now by rejecting any attempt that may still be coming to overturn the D.C. Human Rights Amendment Act, which repealed a congressionally imposed provision that allowed schools in D.C. to deny LGBT students equal access to school facilities and services.
"Congress has much work to do at the national level. The next priority should be passage of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), which bars job discrimination based on sexual orientation. This long-pending bill would add sexual orientation to Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which I was privileged to enforce as chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Passing ENDA should be far easier than what the Court did today in its landmark 5-4 decision. Polls show ENDA has long had overwhelming support. ENDA will certainly be my next priority."