Senate to vote on landmark bill to protect same-sex marriage

WASHINGTON >> The Senate will vote Tuesday on bipartisan legislation to protect same-sex and interracial marriages, moving Congress closer to passing the landmark bill and ensuring that such unions are enshrined in federal law.

The expected passage of the legislation with support from both parties is an extraordinary sign of the shifting politics on the issue and a measure of relief for the hundreds of thousands of same-sex couples who have married since the Supreme Court’s 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges decision that legalized gay marriage nationwide. Senate Democrats are moving quickly, while the party still holds the majority in both chambers of Congress, to send the bill to the House and eventually President Joe Biden’s desk.

The bill has gained steady momentum since the Supreme Court’s June decision that overturned the federal right to an abortion, and comments from Justice Clarence Thomas at the time that suggested same-sex marriage could also come under threat. Bipartisan Senate negotiations kickstarted this summer after 47 Republicans unexpectedly voted for a House bill and gave supporters new optimism.

The legislation would not codify the Obergefell decision or force any state to allow same-sex couples to marry. But it would require states to recognize all marriages that were legal where they were performed, and protect current same-sex unions, if Obergefell were to be overturned. It would also protect interracial marriages by requiring states to recognize legal marriages regardless of “sex, race, ethnicity, or national origin.”

“The rights of all married couples will never truly be safe without the proper protections under federal law, and that’s why the Respect for Marriage Act is necessary,” Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said on the Senate floor before a test vote Monday.