Discrimination is discrimination…whether it’s the “Negro people” or a loving same sex couple

As I listened to the Republican members of the Senate Judiciary Committee use every excuse in their playbook to vote against the Respect for Marriage Act this morning, I couldn’t help but think of one of my favorite sections of Dr. King’s, “I Have A Dream” speech. Because as much as they protest that the fight for marriage equality is not akin to the struggle for racial equality…I beg to differ. Discrimination is discrimination…whether it’s the “Negro people” or a loving same sex couple.

“…It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked “insufficient funds.” But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. So we have come to cash this check — a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice. We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quick sands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God’s children…”