The United States Congress today gave final approval to legislation protecting same-sex marriages, a step considered monumental in a decades-long battle for national recognition of such unions.
It is now up to President Joe Biden to adopt a measure, which requires that all States recognize marriages between people of the same sex, a relief for hundreds of thousands of married couples who have married since the decision of the Supreme Court, in 2015, which legalized these marriages in all the country.
The bipartisan legislation, which passed 258-169 with nearly 40 Republican votes, also protects interracial unions by requiring states to recognize legal marriages regardless of “sex, race, ethnicity or national origin.”
After months of negotiations, the Senate approved the bill last week with 12 Republican votes.
In the pre-vote debate, several gay members of Congress spoke about what it would mean for them and their families. Rep. Chris Pappas said he was about to marry the love of his life next year and that it was “unthinkable” that his marriage would not be recognized in some states.
Rep. Mark Pocan said he and his husband should be able to visit each other in the hospital like any other couple and receive spousal benefits, “regardless of whether your spouse’s name is Samuel or Samantha.”
Representative David Cicilline stated that the idea of marriage equality used to be a “wacky idea, now it’s the law of the land and is supported by the vast majority of Americans.”
Democrats quickly passed the bill in the House and Senate after the Supreme Court ruled last June that it struck down the federal right to abortion. That decision included a concurring opinion from Justice Clarence Thomas, who suggested that same-sex marriage should also be reconsidered.
The legislation has lost some Republican support since July, when 47 Republicans voted in favor, an unexpectedly robust show of support that kicked off negotiations in the Senate. But most of these legislators stood their ground.
“To me, that’s just being in line with the Constitution,” said Rep. Ann Wagner of Missouri, who voted both times. She rejected arguments from the Republican Party that this would affect the religious rights of those who don’t believe in same-sex marriage.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi presided over the vote as one of her last acts of leadership before stepping down next January. Pelosi said the legislation will ensure that the federal government will never again get in the way of marrying the one you love.
The legislation would not require states to allow same-sex couples to marry, like Obergefell v. Hodges”, 2015 of the Supreme Court.
This ruling is a landmark civil rights case in which the US Supreme Court ruled that the fundamental right to marry is guaranteed to same-sex couples under the Due Process Clause and the Equal Protection Clause of 14 Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. But it would require states to recognize all marriages that were legal where they took place and would protect existing same-sex unions if the “Obergefell” decision were overturned.
While not all that marriage equality advocates want, the legislation’s passage represents a milestone. Just a decade ago, many Republicans openly campaigned to block same-sex marriages; today, more than two-thirds of the public support him.
Still, most Republicans have opposed the legislation, and some conservative advocacy groups have lobbied aggressively against it in recent weeks, arguing that the legislation does not do enough to protect those who want to deny services to same-sex couples. sex.
“God’s perfect design is in fact marriage between one man and one woman for life,” said Rep. Bob Good, before the vote.
“And no matter what you think or what I think, that’s what the Bible says,” he said.
Rep. Vicky Hartzler implored her colleagues to vote against the bill, which she said undermined “natural marriage” between a man and a woman.
“I’m going to say my priorities,” Hartzler said. “Protect religious freedom, protect people of faith, and protect Americans who believe in the true meaning of marriage.”
Senate Democrats, led by Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, sought to address these GOP concerns by negotiating an amendment clarifying that the legislation does not affect the rights of individuals or businesses that are already enshrined in current law. The amended bill also makes it clear that the marriage is between two people, an effort to stave off some far-right criticism that the legislation could support polygamy.
In the end, various religious groups, including the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, supported the bill. The Mormon church has stated that it would support the rights of same-sex couples as long as they do not infringe on the right of religious groups to believe what they want.
Today’s vote came as the LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer) community faced violent attacks, including the shooting earlier this month at a gay nightclub in Colorado that killed five people and injured at least two people. 17.
Source: Observadora
