The U.S. House of Representatives finally approved the bill to protect same-sex marriage

After the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Respect for Marriage Act, one of the bill’s sponsors, Democratic U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, greeted former Democratic U.S. Congressman Barney Frank from Minnesota. (8 December 2022)

WASHINGTON —The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday (Dec. 8) finally approved a bill to protect same-sex and interracial marriage.

The House voted 258 to 169 to pass the bill, which was then sent to President Joe Biden to sign into law.

The Act repealed the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act which defined marriage as the union of a man and a woman under federal law. The bill also requires states to recognize same-sex and interracial marriages that follow procedures in other states, though it does not prevent states from passing laws prohibiting such marriages on their own.

The U.S. Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage in its 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges ruling. But the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in June in Dobbs v. Jackson overturned federal protections for abortion, raising concerns that other rights could also be lost under federal law.

Justice Clarence Thomas, writing a concurring opinion on Dobbs v. Jackson, said the Supreme Court should reconsider other privacy-based rulings, such as protections for the right to marry or the right to use family planning. He argues that the U.S. Constitution does not guarantee these rights. Thomas’ comments have led to widespread fears that the Supreme Court’s next step will be to overturn same-sex marriage rights. A group of senators from both parties drafted the Respect for Marriage Act to address that possibility.

The bill was recently approved by the Senate. During Senate debates, Republican Sen. Mike Lee said the bill was unnecessary.

“Just one line in a consent opinion does not justify the bill, which seriously threatens religious freedom,” he said. The Respect for Marriage Act is unnecessary. The states have not refused to recognize same-sex marriage. There is no real risk of losing recognition by anyone.

The bill passed the House of Representatives earlier this year when 47 Republican representatives voted in favor of it. As the Senate joined the amendment protecting religious freedom, the bill was sent back to the House for members of the House to vote on the amendment.

Liberty Counsel, a nonprofit that promotes religious freedom, issued a statement saying the Respect for Marriage Act was unconstitutional and did not “provide any protections for religious individuals and organizations, and that subsequent amendments to the bill excluded a large percentage of religious organizations protected by the Constitution and the law.”

However, Republican Senator Susan Collins, one of the bill’s co-sponsors, spoke on the Senate floor that concerns about religious freedom were a false argument.

“This bill will make it clear that, under federal law, nonprofit religious organizations and religious education institutions cannot be compelled to participate in or support the solicitation and celebration of marriages that violate their religious beliefs,” she said. A

May 2022 Gallup poll showed that 71% of Americans said they support same-sex marriage. When the poll was first conducted in 1996, only 27 percent of Americans said they supported same-sex marriage.