10 Members of Congress Pose for NOH8 Campaign

The NOH8 Campaign focused its camera on the nation’s capitol earlier this month, with 10 members of Congress donning white to pose for “NOH8 on the Hill."

The members of Congress who participated represent the District of Columbia, California, Oregon, Colorado, Massachusetts and Ohio, including Rep. Dennis Kucinich, the former Democratic presidential candidate who encouraged the photo campaign's venture to Capitol Hill and was the first to sit for the shoot.

"Our nation was founded upon the principle of equality,” he said in a statement released with his photo. “It is imperative that we work for equal rights for all in order to make that principle a reality. Love isn't gay or straight, tall or short, black or white; it is for everyone."

All of the 10 lawmakers photographed were Democrats, and although the shoot was open to any member of Congress, no Republicans chose to participate. Among the pictures is one member of the LGBT caucus. On the following pages, see all of the photos and the lawmakers' accompanying statements about why they chose to pose.  [The Advocate, NOH8 Campaign]

"On the same week that Maryland and Washington stepped up for marriage equality, I stood with NOH8 in solidarity with those who are fighting Prop 8 in California. Gay and lesbian Americans are part of the fabric that makes this country strong. The notion that we could ask these men and women to do everything from paying taxes to serving our country in uniform while denying them the right to marry is offensive to everything I believe in as a public servant. I won’t stop working for equal rights in Congress until they have been extended to every American."
- Rep. Earl Blumenauer

"The reason why I support the NOH8 Campaign is simple: our country rests on the principle that all people are equal, regardless of their gender or sexual orientation. If we deny that fact then we are no longer the Land of the Free. The most important freedom is the freedom to be the person you truly are and embrace the life you want to live. It’s my hope that LGBT youth across the country and in Massachusetts feel our encouragement and support. They are not alone. I stand firmly behind them, and the important message that NOH8 is spreading."  
- Rep. William Keating

"I’m proud to join over 20,000 participants who’ve posed in NOH8 photos depicting the silencing of equality by California’s Prop 8 and similar legislation around the world.   These pictures speak volumes about the will of the American people to be treated the same, regardless of race, religion or sexual orientation." 
- Rep. Judy Chu

"Hate does not belong in our communities, families, schools, the workplace and certainly not in our government.” 
- Rep. Barbara Lee

Check out the other five members and their statements after the jump.

“Don’t be fooled, I’ll never be silenced about marriage equality.”
- Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton

"NOH8 because we are a country of equality and inclusion, not hate and segregation. NOH8 because the state should not dictate love or marriage. I proudly join with the NOH8 campaign to stand up for marriage equality and oppose laws that suppress it." 
- Rep. Jackie Speier

"Equality before the law is an American value articulated in our Constitution and it’s at the heart of the NOH8 Campaign. With a focus on our nation’s value of freedom and an unflagging insistence on equality for all, we can look forward to a time when equal rights for all is a given.”  
- Rep. Jared Polis

“I’m proud to participate in this extraordinary campaign, to make this statement of protest against the treatment of LGBT Americans as second-class citizens.  I believe this is the defining civil rights struggle of our time -- where you stand today on marriage equality will determine how you are judged by history.  What’s at stake is the human dignity of LGBT people.  To deny equal rights and freedoms based on sexual orientation does violence to American values.” 
- Rep. Lynn Woolsey

“In 2004 I rallied on the steps of the Massachusetts State House in support of same-sex marriage and I was proud that Massachusetts was the first state to recognize marriage equality.  Consenting individuals throughout the country though should have the ability to have their monogamous, long-term relationships recognized and celebrated.  Our nation will be stronger when all Americans enjoy this right.”
 - Rep. Niki Tsongas