House of Representatives passes same-sex marriage bill, sending it to Joe Biden’s desk

Eight fewer Republicans vote for the bill than did so in July

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. (Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

The House of Representatives passed legislation to codify protections for same-sex and interracial marriage on Thursday, sending the bill to President Joe Biden’s desk.

The House passed the bill 258-169, with 39 Republicans voting with 219 Democrats.

The Respect for Marriage Act came after the House voted to pass legislation to protect same-sex marriage and interracial marriage earlier this summer after the Supreme Court’s Dobbs v Jackson decision.

“Not only are we on the right side of history, we’re on the right side of the future, expanding freedom in America” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in the bill’s enrollment ceremony.

“For the first time in a decade, we are sending a major LGBTQ+ civil rights bill to the president’s desk,” Representative David Cicilline of Rhode Island, chairman of the Equality Caucus, said. “The vast majority of Americans agree that marriage equality in settled law in this country. And with today’s vote, Congress has provided much-needed security to same-sex and interracial couples who have built their families and lives around marriage equality.”

At that time, Supreme Court Associate Justice Clarence Thomas wrote a concurring opinion saying that the court should also re-examine Griswold v Connecticut, which prohibits states from preventing married couples from obtaining birth control; Lawrence v Texas, which nullified anti-sodomy laws; and Obergefell v Hodges, which legalised same-sex marriage nationwide.

In July, the Respect for Marriage Act passed with 47 Republican votes, eight more votes than when it passed on Thursday.

That sent the legislation to the Senate, where a bipartisan group of senators negotiated the parameters of the bill and passed it last week 61 to 36.

Some Republicans objected to the lack of religious liberty protections.

“I hope and pray that my colleagues will find the courage to join me in opposing this misguided and this dangerous bill,” Representative Vicky Hartzler of Missouri said in a floor speech.

Republican Representative Tim Walberg of Michigan expressed his dismay as well, saying the bill goes beyond what supporters would say it does. He added he opposed it because of a “deep appreciation for science, also, in the positive endeavor of continuing the human race is important.”