Respect for Marriage Act awaits Joe Biden's signature, passes with support from local reps.

By: Jacob Vitali

The Respect for Marriage Act is awaiting President Joe Biden’s signature after passing in the U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday.

The bill, which codifies protections for same-sex and interracial marriage at the federal level, passed 258-169 in the House and 61-36 in the Senate in November. Once the legislation is signed into law, the federal government will recognize same-sex and interracial marriages performed in any state, and states will be prohibited from discriminating against same-sex or interracial couples legally married in another state. The bill repeals the Defense of Marriage Act, enacted in 1996, which saw the federal government recognize only marriages between men and women.

While the bill’s passage picked up the support of 39 Republicans in the House and 12 Republicans in the Senate, support for the bill vote stayed largely along party lines. Democrats, including U.S. Rep. Lori Trahan, said that the legislation is necessary.

“Millions of same-sex and interracial couples across our nation are breathing a sigh of relief today. Passage of the Respect for Marriage Act guarantees that their marriages will be recognized and safeguarded no matter what federal courts rule or state legislatures try to pass,” said Trahan, a member of the Congressional LGBTQ+ Equality Caucus.

While Trahan believes the bill is “an overdue step in the right direction,” there is more work to be done. She said the Supreme Court could still act to overturn same-sex marriage protections, leaving many with “no option to marry the person they love in the state they call home.”

Trahan said legislation like the Equality Act would see sexual orientation and gender identity become protected categories, where discrimination on the grounds of sex, sexual orientation and gender identity in public accommodations and facilities, education, federal funding, employment, housing, credit, and the jury system would be prohibited.

U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern, chair of the House Rules Committee, was also among those to vote in favor. McGovern said the legislation was “an amazing and historic victory for equal rights.” He said the bill’s passage “honored” decades of efforts by LGBTQ and civil rights activists to create a “more just and equitable country.”

McGovern and Trahan both said the move to enshrine marriage protections into federal law follows comments by Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas in his concurring opinion for Dobbs v. Jackson — the case which repealed Roe v. Wade this summer.

“Justice Clarence Thomas made clear that past rulings protecting same-sex marriage and interracial marriage should be reconsidered. To me — and I think to most people across America — that sentiment was repulsive and unacceptable. Love is love, hate has no place here, and no person should be denied equal rights because of who they are or who they want to spend their life with,” McGovern said in a statement.