House passes Respect for Marriage Act, sending landmark marriage equality bill to Biden - CBS News

Washington — The House connected Thursday approved authorities that provides national protections for same-sex and interracial marriages, sending the landmark measure to President Biden's table for his signature and capping a decades-long displacement successful Americans' attitudes toward cheery marriage. 

Called the Respect for Marriage Act, the measurement won bipartisan enactment successful the Democratic-led House, aft the little enclosure passed this summertime a mentation of the measure with backing from 47 Republicans. The House ballot to springiness last support to the authorities was 258 to 169, with 1 Republican voting "present." Thirty-nine GOP lawmakers joined each Democrats successful supporting the bill.

Mr. Biden said the measure's transition volition supply bid disconnected caput to LGBTQI+ and interracial couples present guaranteed national protections, peculiarly successful the aftermath of the Supreme Court's June determination overturning Roe v. Wade, which was the catalyst for Congress taking up the bill.

"Congress has restored a measurement of information to millions of marriages and families. They person besides provided anticipation and dignity to millions of young radical crossed this state who tin turn up knowing that their authorities volition admit and respect the families they build," helium said successful a statement.

The measurement is apt to beryllium 1 of the past important legislative accomplishments from the Democratic House, and 1 of Speaker Nancy Pelosi's last acts arsenic speaker, earlier the enactment turns implicit power of the little enclosure to Republicans with the commencement of the caller Congress successful January.

"Today, we basal up for the values the immense bulk of Americans clasp dear, a content successful the dignity, quality and divinity, divinity, spark of divinity, successful each idiosyncratic and abiding respect for emotion truthful almighty that it binds 2 radical together," Pelosi said successful a code connected the House floor. 

The California Democrat noted the full-circle quality of the vote: 1 of her last acts during her archetypal word arsenic talker was passing authorities repealing Don't Ask Don't Tell, and she volition close her tenure arsenic talker present with the Respect for Marriage Act.

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi conducts a measure enrollment ceremonial for the Respect for Marriage Act successful the U.S. Capitol connected Thursday, Dec. 8, 2022. Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

The House ballot came aft the Senate cleared the authorities successful a 61 to 36 ballot that included enactment from 12 Republicans. The program won broader backing from GOP senators aft the archetypal House-passed measure was revised to see an amendment providing spiritual liberty protections.

Mr. Biden highlighted the bipartisan conjugation successful Congress who helped usher the matrimony equality measure done some chambers, saying their efforts "showed that it's imaginable for Democrats and Republicans to travel unneurotic to safeguard our astir cardinal rights."

The Respect for Marriage Act was among the archetypal legislative steps taken by the House successful the aftermath of the Supreme Court's June decision rolling backmost the law close to an abortion. Concerned by a concurring opinion from Justice Clarence Thomas that urged the tribunal to reconsider different landmark cases, including the 2015 determination recognizing the close to same-sex marriage, Democrats moved swiftly to enshrine matrimony equality into national law. 

The measure repeals the Clinton-era Defense of Marriage Act, which denied national benefits and designation to same-sex couples, and it safeguards marriages by requiring that valid marriages are recognized careless of "sex, race, ethnicity oregon nationalist origin."

After Senate Republicans expressed concerns the archetypal program would infringe connected spiritual freedom, a bipartisan radical successful the Senate brokered a deal connected changes to the measure ensuring nonprofit spiritual groups volition not beryllium required to supply services, facilities oregon goods for the solemnisation of a same-sex marriage, and protecting spiritual liberty and conscience protections disposable nether the Constitution and national law. The bipartisan amendment besides makes wide that the measure doesn't authorize the U.S. authorities to admit polygamous marriages. 

The statement connected the revised authorities was important due to the fact that it produced the Republican enactment needed to flooded a filibuster successful the Senate, clearing the mode for the legislation's last passage.

The transition of the measure — peculiarly with bipartisan majorities — is simply a watershed for the LGBTQ rights question and demonstrates the shifting views by the American nationalist connected same-sex marriage. A June 2021 Gallup canvass recovered that enactment for cheery matrimony reached a grounds high.

But it besides demonstrated the rising concerns among Democrats that different rights guaranteed by past Supreme Court decisions could beryllium nether menace by the precocious court's expanded blimpish majority. In summation to passing the matrimony equality bill, the House besides passed authorities aimed astatine restoring termination rights aft the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and protecting entree to commencement control. Neither of those bills, however, would wide the 50-50 Senate.

While the Supreme Court successful 2015 recognized the close to same-sex matrimony successful its landmark determination successful Obergefell v. Hodges and struck down the Defense of Marriage Act successful 2013, the authorities approved by Congress provides further safeguards for matrimony equality.

The absorption from Republicans successful some chambers besides demonstrates the spot of the party's blimpish base, which staunchly objects to same-sex marriage. Many blimpish organizations urged Republicans to ballot against the legislation, and Rep. Jim Jordan, a Republican from Ohio, said connected the House level that the measure was the "wrong mode to go."

Despite the public's clasp of matrimony equality, hatred crimes against Asian-Americans, Jewish people and LGBTQ people person risen successful immoderate large U.S. cities this year. Five radical were fatally changeable and 17 others were wounded astatine a shooting astatine a LGBTQ nightclub successful Colorado Springs, Colorado, and the fishy was charged with 305 transgression counts, including hatred transgression and execution connected Tuesday.

While momentum initially built down the matrimony equality program aft it was introduced successful July, question done the Senate was put connected hold until aft the November midterm elections astatine the petition of Sen. Tammy Baldwin, a Democrat from Wisconsin, and the bipartisan radical of senators progressive successful talks implicit the plan.

The Senate, however, past moved to advance the bill swiftly aft the woody connected spiritual liberty protections was passed.