Monumental Change
As of December 8, both the Senate and House have passed the Same-Sex Marriage Bill. On Tuesday November 29, the Senate passed legislation for federal recognition of same-sex and interracial marriages. Also known as the Respect for Marriage act, this bill will repeal the Defense Marriage Act of 1996, which defines marriage and spouses as between individuals of the opposite sex. In a 61-36 vote, with unanimous Democratic support and 12 Republicans, the bill was pushed out of the Senate and further towards becoming law.
The next checkpoint was a vote by the House of Representatives. Originally set for Tuesday December 6th, it was delayed to Thursday. The House passed the bill in a 258-169 vote. After this quick turnaround, people now celebrate nationwide for same-sex and interracial marriage protection. The bill is now in President Biden’s hands for presidential, and likely final, approval.
After the vote in the Senate, Biden voiced that “For millions of Americans, this legislation will safeguard the rights and protection to which LGBTQI+ and interracial couples and their children are entitled”.
Currently, the Democrats have the majority in the House and the Senate, but are going to cede the House to the Republican party. With this changeover incoming, the executed bipartisan legislation is a powerful sign of hope for many same-sex couples. It has been deemed an “extraordinary sign of shifting national politics on” same-sex marriage.
According to the New York Times, “same sex-marriage, once considered a divisive political issue, has become so widely accepted by members of both parties that a measure to protect it has managed to attract divisive, bipartisan majorities in both the Senate and House.” In a rather surprising manner to the nation, the act “brought together an unusual coalition… including, some deeply conservative and libertarian leaning ones.” Democratic Senator Tammy Baldwin played a powerful role in advocating the bill to her colleagues, and getting it passed.
While this is a powerful step towards greater equality, of course not everyone supported this bill. The majority of Republicans voted against its passing and pushed to have it edited in the Senate. Their amendment established that religious organizations are not required to perform same-sex marriages, and the federal government does not protect polygamous marriages. Last week, many “Republicans who opposed the bill decried it Thursday as an affront to ‘biblical’ definitions of marriage”.
What are key components of the bill?
In addition to the aforementioned elements, the Same-Sex Marriage Bill protects both same-sex and interracial marriages, by requiring all states to recognize legal marriages in any other state regardless of race, ethnicity, sex, and national origin. Though states are not mandated to perform a marriage. Further, by repealing the Defense of Marriage Act, same-sex couples now have access to federal benefits such as Medicare and Social Security, which they did not before.
