A historic moment unfolded on Tuesday when the House passed a bill that would federally protect same-sex marriages. Forty-seven Republicans joined Democrats to pass the bill with a 267-157 vote, CNN reports. As the Respect for Marriage Act now goes to the Senate, it’s unclear if it will get enough support to pass.
Tuesday’s vote came after Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas sparked controversy in June when he voted in favor of eliminating access to abortion while also calling to overturn the right to same-sex marriage and contraception, as Blavity previously reported.
“In future cases, we should reconsider all of this Court’s substantive due process precedents, including Griswold, Lawrence, and Obergefell,” Thomas wrote, aiming to eliminate access to contraception and the right to same-sex relationships, CNN reported.
The Respect for Marriage Act, introduced by Democratic Rep. Jerry Nadler of New York, also includes federal protections for interracial marriages. According to the bill, a marriage must be recognized under federal law if it was legal in the state where it took place. The measure also protects couples from facing discrimination on the basis of sex, race, ethnicity or national origin.
“It is critical to ensure that federal law protects those whose constitutional rights might be threatened by Republican-controlled state legislatures. LGBTQ Americans and those in interracial marriages deserve to have certainty that they will continue to have their right to equal marriage recognized, no matter where they live,” House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said in a statement, according to CNN.
Rep. Mondaire Jones, D-N.Y., said, “For me, this is personal.”
“Imagine telling the next generation of Americans, my generation, we no longer have the right to marry,” Jones said, according to NPR. “Congress can’t allow that to happen.”
A majority of Americans support people’s rights to marry whoever they want regardless of sex, gender, race or ethnicity, NPR reports. According to a recent Gallup poll, 70% of U.S. adults said they think same-sex marriage should be recognized by law. Support for interracial marriage in the U.S. reached a six-decade high at 94% in September, the poll revealed.
“The extremist right-wing majority on the Supreme Court has put our country down a perilous path,” Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon, D-Pa., said during Tuesday’s vote. “It’s time for our colleagues across the aisle to stand up and be counted. Will they vote to protect these fundamental freedoms? Or will they vote to let states take those freedoms away?”
