BURLINGTON, Vt., Dec. 7 – U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) issued the following statement today after the Supreme Court agreed to hear two cases on same-sex marriage:

“Vermonters are rightly proud of our state’s historic role as a civil rights leader. Our state was the first in the nation to allow gay marriage without a court order, but that doesn’t mean gay Americans everywhere don’t deserve to have their rights protected. I hope the U.S. Supreme Court does that. I also hope the court strikes down the so-called Defense of Marriage Act. It was a bad idea when it was enacted in 1996. That’s why I voted against the law in the first place and why I am a cosponsor today of a bill to repeal the discriminatory law.”