Bill protecting same-sex and interracial unions clears US Congress

(Andrew Harnik/AP)

The US House gave final approval on Thursday to legislation protecting same-sex marriages, a monumental step in a decades-long battle for nationwide recognition.

President Joe Biden has said he will promptly sign the measure, which requires all states to recognise same-sex marriages.

It is a relief for hundreds of thousands of couples who have married since the Supreme Court’s 2015 decision that legalised those marriages and have worried about what would happen if the ruling were overturned.

In a statement after the vote, Mr Biden called the legislation a “critical step to ensure that Americans have the right to marry the person they love”.

On the House Floor, I spoke about Phyllis and Del Martin: my dear friends and iconic trailblazers. Their love made history as the first legally recognized same-sex marriage in San Francisco.

My thoughts were with them today as we joyfully passed the Respect for Marriage Act. pic.twitter.com/cIx6H2b7NX

— Nancy Pelosi (@SpeakerPelosi) December 8, 2022

He said the legislation provides “hope and dignity to millions of young people across this country who can grow up knowing that their government will recognize and respect the families they build”.

The bipartisan legislation, which passed 258-169 with 39 Republican votes, would also protect interracial unions by requiring states to recognise legal marriages regardless of “sex, race, ethnicity, or national origin”. After months of negotiations, the Senate passed the bill last week with 12 Republican votes.

Democrats moved the bill quickly through the House and Senate after the Supreme Court’s decision in June that overturned the federal right to an abortion — including a concurring opinion from Justice Clarence Thomas that suggested the 2015 Obergefell v Hodges decision legalising same-sex marriage could also be reconsidered.

While many Republicans predicted that was unlikely to happen, and said the bill was unnecessary, Democrats and GOP supporters of the bill said it should not be left to chance.

“We need it,” said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who presided over the vote as one of her last acts in leadership before stepping aside in January. “It is magic.”

The bill is “a glorious triumph of love and freedom”, Ms Pelosi said, tearing up as she celebrated its passage.

In a debate before the vote, several gay members of Congress talked about what a federal law would mean for them and their families.

Democrat Mark Pocan said he and his husband should be able to visit each other in the hospital just like any other married couple and receive spousal benefits “regardless of if your spouse’s name is Samuel or Samantha”.

In the wake of Dobbs, Congress has restored a measure of security to marriages and families by passing the Respect for Marriage Act.

We're one step closer on our journey to build a more perfect union. We'll never stop fighting for equality for LGBTQI+ folks and all Americans.

— President Biden Archived (@POTUS46Archive) December 8, 2022

Fellow Democrat Chris Pappas said he was set to marry “the love of my life” next year and it is “unthinkable” that his marriage might not be recognised in some states if Obergefell were to be overturned.

The legislation lost some Republican support since July, when 47 Republicans voted for it — a robust and unexpected show of support that kick-started serious negotiations in the Senate.

But most of those politicians held firm, with a cross section of the party, from conservatives to moderates, voting for the bill. House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy voted against it.

“To me this is really just standing with the Constitution,” said Republican Ann Wagner, who voted for the bill both times. She pushed back on GOP arguments that it would affect the religious rights of those who do not believe in same-sex marriage.

“No one’s religious liberties are affected in any way, shape or form,” Ms Wagner said.

The legislation would not require states to allow same-sex couples to marry, as Obergefell now does. But it would require states to recognise all marriages that were legal where they were performed and protect current same-sex unions if the Supreme Court decision were overturned.

While it is not everything advocates may have wanted, passage of the legislation represents a watershed moment. Just a decade ago, many Republicans openly campaigned on blocking same-sex marriages; today more than two-thirds of the public support them.

Still, most Republicans opposed the legislation and some conservative advocacy groups lobbied aggressively against it in recent weeks, arguing that it does not do enough to protect those who want to refuse services for same-sex couples.

“God’s perfect design is indeed marriage between one man and one woman for life,” said Republican Bob Good before the vote. “And it doesn’t matter what you think or what I think, that’s what the Bible says.”

Republican Vicky Hartzler choked up as she begged colleagues to vote against the bill, which she said undermines “natural marriage” between a man and a woman.

“I’ll tell you my priorities,” Ms Hartzler said. “Protect religious liberty, protect people of faith and protect Americans who believe in the true meaning of marriage.”

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and members of Congress celebrate the signing of the Respect For Marriage Act (Andrew Harnik/AP)

Democrats in the Senate, led by Wisconsin’s Tammy Baldwin and Arizona’s Kyrsten Sinema, worked with supportive Republican senators to address those GOP concerns by negotiating changes to clarify that the legislation does not impair the rights of private individuals or businesses.

The amended bill would also make clear that a marriage is between two people, an effort to ward off some far-right criticism that the legislation could endorse polygamy.

In the end, several religious groups, including the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, came out in support of the bill. The Mormon church said it would support rights for same-sex couples as long as they did not infringe upon religious groups’ right to believe as they choose.

Thursday’s vote came as the LGBTQ community has faced violent attacks, such as the shooting this month at a gay nightclub in Colorado that killed five people and injured at least 17.

“We have been through a lot,” said Kelley Robinson, incoming president of the advocacy group Human Rights Campaign. But Ms Robinson says the votes show “in such an important way” that the country values LBGTQ people.

“We are part of the full story of what it means to be an American.

“It really speaks to them validating our love.”