ABOVE: Sen. Patrick Leahy, photo via Leahy’s Facebook page.
U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT), the longest-serving senator still in office, announced his retirement Nov. 15.
Leahy, who has served eight terms in the Senate, said he and his wife Marcelle concluded that it was time for the 81-year-old to “pass the torch to the next Vermonter who will carry on this work for our great state.”
“I will forever carry with me the enduring bond with my fellow Vermonters, whose common sense and goodness are what I strive to match as their representative,” he said. “Thank you for being the inspiration and the motivation for all the good that has come from my work in the Senate. Rest assured our state and our nation will remain resilient and the next generation will ensure our democracy remains whole and thriving.”
Leahy, the current Senate president pro tempore, has long been an LGBTQ+ ally.
In 2013, Leahy pushed to add same-sex couples to an immigration reform bill. The amendment would have enabled gay and lesbian Americans to sponsor their foreign partners for residency in the United States.
“For immigration reform to be truly comprehensive, it must include protections for all families,” he said at the time. “We must end the discrimination that gay and lesbian families face in our immigration law.”
He ended up withholding the pro-LGBTQ+ amendment “with a heavy heart” after he couldn’t garner support for the measure but gave an extended speech on why he believes discrimination against gay couples is wrong.
“In the immigration context, if you’re an American and fall in love will someone of the same sex from a different country and you get married legally, your spouse will not be treated like any other immigrant spouse would be by your federal government,” Leahy said. “My amendments would change that. I don’t want to be the senator who asks Americans to choose between the love of their life and the love of their country.”
In his speech announcing he would not run for re-election, Leahy touted his work on legislation, such as the Innocence Protection Act, the Justice for All Act and Freedom of Information Reform Act.
He also mentioned his work on the Violence Against Women Act. “In subsequent reauthorizations, we added protections for the LGBTQ community, Native American women and the sexual trafficking of children,” he said.
Leahy made the announcement at the Vermont State House, where he announced his first run for Senate in 1974.
“This room is special to both Marcelle and me, and not just because as a kid I used to ride my tricycle down these halls,” he said. “Having grown up right across the street, Marcelle and I gathered here with our parents, our children Kevin, Alicia and Mark, and my sister Mary and announced my candidacy for the United States Senate. At the time, I was a 33-year-old, four-term Chittenden County state’s attorney, launching a campaign knowing that Vermont had never sent a Democrat to the United States Senate.”
“What propelled me was a belief that I understood the needs and values of Vermont and thought it was time for a new generation to address them,” he said.
Leahy ended his address by saying, “Representing you in Washington has been the greatest honor. I am humbled, and always will be, by your support, and I am confident in what the future holds.”
