WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) released the following statement in response to the United States Supreme Court’s ruling to strike down the Defense of Marriage Act, and its decision on the State of California’s Proposition 8:

It has often been said that the arc of moral history bends only toward justice, and today, the Supreme Court proved this axiom to be true. The right to marry the person you love should not be denied to anyone based on their sexual orientation, because in the end, all that should matter is the love you have for the person standing on altar beside you. I have been part of this movement from the very beginning of my public service, signing up as one of the original ten cosponsors of Connecticut's civil union legislation.  Today, I get shivers looking at how far this nation has come in under two decades.  The majority of Americans now support marriage equality, and most members of the Senate, on both sides of the aisle, have pledged their support as well. I’m thrilled that the Supreme Court today ruled in favor of common sense and equality, allowing same-sex couples to take advantage of federal benefits that should have been theirs all along. Plain and simple, this is a day that makes me proud to be in public service.

###