RESPECT FOR MARRIAGE ACT PASSES THROUGH THE SENATE

- Terry Gross

Wednesday, November 30, 2022

Senators Collins (R-ME), Baldwin (D-WI), Portman (R-OH), and Sinema (D-AZ) at a news conference

after the passage of the Respect of Marriage Act (The Washington Post)

Yesterday (Nov. 29), the U.S. Senate passed landmark legislation for same-sex and interracial marriages. The bill, called the Respect for Marriage Act, serves to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act, which set limits on the recognition of same-sex marriages on the federal level. The passage of this bill received bipartisan support, with 61 votes in favor and 36 opposed. Democrats were able to pull ten Republican backers with a concession stating that religious organizations are not required to provide goods or services for any of these marriages.

The bill is set to be voted on by the House as early as next week, which is to the benefit of its proponents because the Republican party will assume a majority in the House this January. The bill was initially written as a message from the Democrats to their constituents that they would continue to promote and fight for these rights, but, to the surprise of many, it gained traction. The effort was spearheaded by Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), the first gay woman to be elected to Congress. In the early stages of the bill’s processing, Baldwin stated that, “More and more, my Republican colleagues know gay people who are married.” This signals that as gay marriage and queerness in general become more accepted culturally, the law can respond. Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) also jumped at the opportunity to assist Baldwin in wrangling the necessary Republican votes. Senator Schumer has a daughter who is married to a woman and is expecting a baby, so the issue hits close to home for him.

After this summer’s Dobbs v. Jackson WHO Supreme Court case, which eliminated federal access to abortions and turned abortion rights over to the states, many senators and their constituents began to ask what would fall next. Justice Clarence Thomas noted that the court should look at precedents regarding adjacent issues like marriage equality and access to contraception. The assumption after Dobbs was that SCOTUS would be charged with codifying same-sex marriage, but the Senate took the job into its own hands. Not only that, but the Senate was able to push past a filibuster, a tactic commonly used in response to controversial bills.

While the passage of this bill through the House is not inevitable, it looks promising that it will reach President Biden’s desk early next year. The passage of the Respect for Marriage Act would (will) be a momentous occasion not just for Democrats, not just for the Senate, not just for the President, not just for queer people, but for the United States as a whole. While partisanship and gridlock trend upward, this act demonstrates that the Senate can still make progress that reflects the needs and opinions of the people. As someone who is from an era where an American could lose their job and be exiled from their community just for admitting to be gay, the passage of this act through the floor is heartening. The day that President Biden signs it into law will be a step in the right direction for protecting the rights of all Americans.