Sen. Bernie Sanders praised a pair of high-profile Supreme Court decisions. On Friday, he welcomed a ruling that the Constitution guarantees gay couples the right to marry in all 50 states. On Thursday, he said the court's "common-sense reading” of the Affordable Care Act left the law intact and preserved health insurance for 6 million people. In the wake of the racially-motivated murders of nine Charleston churchgoers, Sanders on Monday called on South Carolina to remove the Confederate flag from its Statehouse lawn. And on Wednesday, he backed a bill to restore a key provision of the Voting Rights Act which had been gutted by a high court ruling two years ago.

Marriage Equality

On Friday, the Supreme Court ruled that the Constitution guarantees a right to same-sex marriage, an historic and long-sought victory for the gay rights movements. Sanders issued the following statement after the decision was released: “Today the Supreme Court fulfilled the words engraved upon its building: ‘Equal justice under law.’ This decision is a victory for same-sex couples across our country as well as all those seeking to live in a nation where every citizen is afforded equal rights. For far too long our justice system has marginalized the gay community and I am very glad the Court has finally caught up to the American people.” Sen. Sanders voted against the Defense of Marriage Act in 1996 and supported Vermont’s civil union law in 2000 and legalization of gay marriage in 2009.  

Take Down the Confederate Flag      

On the Senate floor Monday, Sanders addressed the recent Charleston church killings and called on the people of South Carolina to take down the Confederate flag: "Mr President, I want to take this opportunity to send my condolences to the families of those who were murdered in Charleston, SC on Wednesday evening, and to the entire city of Charleston. It is hard to understand how someone could walk into a church, be welcomed into a prayer meeting, and then take out a gun and slaughter 9 people who were in the process of discussing the bible. Hard to believe. But that is what happened. Read more here.

Corporate America Wins Again

Sanders expressed deep disappointment on Tuesday after the Senate voted 60-37 to cut off debate and advance legislation that would grant President Barack Obama powers to complete a major Pacific trade accord. “The vote today – pushed by multi-national corporations, pharmaceutical companies and Wall Street – will mean a continuation of disastrous trade policies which have cost our country millions of decent-paying jobs,” said Sanders, who voted no. “American workers deserve a trade policy that works for them and not only for the CEOs of major multi-national corporations. We cannot continue trade policies which outsource good jobs to low-wage countries overseas and lead us into a race to the bottom,” he added. Read more here. Watch Sanders on the Senate floor here.

Sanders Backs Voting Rights Bill

Sanders issued a statement on Wednesday endorsing legislation introduced in the Senate to restore the Voting Rights Act: “The Supreme Court’s 2013 decision gutting the Voting Rights Act was a shameful step backward. The critical civil rights law which protected voters in places with a history of discrimination is as necessary today as it was in the era of Jim Crow laws. We should do everything possible to guarantee the right to vote, not make it harder for people to cast ballots. That’s why I strongly support the Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2015."

Supreme Court Upholds Health Care Law

Sanders issued the following statement on Thursday after the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in the case of King v. Burwell to uphold the Affordable Care Act: “The Supreme Court recognized the common-sense reading of the Affordable Care Act that Congress intended to help all eligible Americans obtain health insurance whether they get it through state or national exchanges. Access to affordable health care should not depend on where you live.At a time when the United States in the only major country on earth that doesn’t guarantee health care to all Americans – and 35 million of our citizens today still lack insurance – it would have been an outrage to throw 6.4 million more people off health insurance.” Read more here. Watch Sanders address the decision here.