House OKs legislation that protects same-sex marriage
WASHINGTON — The U.S. House overwhelmingly approved legislation Tuesday to protect same-sex and interracial marriages amid concerns that the Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe v. Wade abortion access could jeopardize other rights criticized by many conservative Americans.
In a robust but lopsided debate, Democrats argued intensely in favor of enshrining marriage equality in federal law, while Republicans steered clear of openly rejecting gay marriage.
Tuesday’s election-year roll call, 267-157, was partly political strategy, forcing all House members, Republicans and Democrats, to go on the record with their views.
“For me, this is personal,” said Rep. Mondaire Jones, D-N.Y., who said he was among the openly gay members of the House. “Imagine telling the next generation of Americans, my generation, we no longer have the right to marry.”
Wary of political fallout, GOP leaders did not direct their lawmakers to hold the party line against the bill, aides said. Dozens of Republicans joined Democrats in voting for passage.
Polling shows a majority of Americans favor preserving rights to marry whom one wishes, regardless of the person’s sex, gender, race or ethnicity.
While the Respect for Marriage Act passed the House, it is almost certain to stall in the evenly split Senate, where most Republicans would likely join a filibuster to block it.
It’s one of several bills, including those enshrining abortion access, that Democrats are proposing to confront the court’s conservative majority.
“The extremist rightwing majority on the
Supreme Court has put our country down a perilous path,” said Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon, D-Pa., in a floor speech setting Tuesday’s process in motion.
But Republicans insisted that the court was only focused on abortion access in June when it struck down the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling, and they argued that samesex marriage and other rights were not threatened.
In fact, of all the Republicans who rose to speak during the morning debate, almost none directly broached the subject of same-sex or interracial marriage.
“We are here for a political charade, we are here for political messaging,” said Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee.
As several Democrats spoke of inequalities they said that they or their loved ones had faced in same-sex marriages, the Republicans talked about rising gas prices, inflation and crime, including recent threats to justices in connection with the abortion ruling.
In a notable silence, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky declined to express his view on the bill, leaving an open question over how strongly his party would fight it, if it even
comes up for a vote in the upper chamber.
The Biden administration issued a statement of support for the marriage bill.
The Respect for Marriage Act would repeal a law from the Clinton era that defines marriage as a heterogeneous relationship between a man and a woman.
It would also provide legal protections for interracial marriages by prohibiting any state from denying out-of-state marriage licenses and benefits on the basis of sex, race, ethnicity or national origin.
The 1996 law, the Defense of Marriage Act, had basically been sidelined by Obama-era court rulings, including Obergefell v. Hodges, which established the rights of same-sex couples to marry nationwide.
But last month, writing for the majority in overturning Roe v. Wade, Justice Samuel Alito argued for a more narrow interpretation of the rights guaranteed to Americans, noting that the right to an abortion was not spelled out in the Constitution.
In a concurring opinion, Justice Clarence Thomas noted that rulings similar to Roe, including those around same-sex marriage, should be reconsidered.