US House passes bill to protect same-sex marriage

US House of Representatives. Pic/PTI

The US 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 jeopardise other rights criticised by many conservative Americans.

In a robust but lopsided debate, Democrats argued intensely and often personally in favour of enshrining marriage equality in federal law, while Republicans steered clear of openly rejecting gay marriage. Instead leading Republicans portrayed the bill as unnecessary amid other issues facing the nation.

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. It also reflected the legislative branch pushing back against an aggressive court that has sparked fears it may revisit apparently settled U.S. laws.

Wary of political fallout, GOP leaders did not press their lawmakers to hold the party line against the bill, aides said. In all, 47 Republicans joined Democrats in voting for passage.

"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," he said. "Congress can't allow that to happen."

While the Respect for Marriage Act easily passed the House with a Democratic majority, it is likely to stall in the evenly split Senate, where most Republicans would probably 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 Biden administration issued a statement of support for the marriage bill.

Polling shows a majority of Americans favour preserving rights to marry whom one wishes, regardless of the person's sex, gender, race or ethnicity, a long-building shift in modern mores toward inclusion.

A Gallup poll in June showed broad and increasing support for same-sex marriage, with 70% of U.S. adults saying they think such unions should be recognised by law as valid. The poll showed majority support among both Democrats (83%) and Republicans (55%).
Approval of interracial marriage in the U.S. hit a six-decade high at 94% in September, according to Gallup.

Ahead of voting, a number of lawmakers joined protesters demonstrating against the abortion ruling outside the Supreme Court, which sits across from the Capitol and remains fenced off for security during tumultuous political times. The U.S. Capitol Police said among those arrested Tuesday were 16 members of Congress.

"The extremist right-wing 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.

"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?"

But Republicans insisted Tuesday that the court was only focused on abortion access in June when it struck down the nearly 50-year-old Roe v. Wade ruling, and they argued that same-sex marriage and other rights were not threatened.

"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.
Even as it passed the House with Republican votes, the outcome in the Senate is hardly favourable.

"I'm probably not inclined to support it," said Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo. "The predicate of this is just wrong. I don't think the Supreme Court is going to overturn any of that stuff."

For Republicans in Congress the Trump-era confirmation of conservative justices to the Supreme Court fulfilled a long-term GOP goal of revisiting many social, environmental and regulatory issues the party has been unable to tackle on its own by passing bills that could be signed into law.

But in a notable silence, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell 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.

"I don't see anything behind this right now other than, you know, election year politics," said the GOP whip, Sen. John Thune of South Dakota.

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, a landmark case for gay rights.

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.

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever.