The Same-sex marriage in the United States will enjoy certain federal protections even if the conservative-majority Supreme Court decides in the future to repeal the right, as it did in the summer with abortion. That protection will be the fruit of the Law of Respect for Marriage, a legislative initiative that has received this Tuesday green light in the senatecon 61 votes in favor, including 12 from Republicans, and 36 against. President Joe Biden Has promised sign it “quickly and proudly“Once the ratify the lower house controlled by the Democrats and where it also has the support of part of the Republican bench. That vote could come next Tuesday.
This law does not go as far as Obergefell v. Hodges, the 2016 Supreme Court ruling that legalized gay marriage throughout the country and which is believed to be in danger. Won’t force all states to issue same-sex wedding licensesbut yes force to to all to recognize marriages performed where they are legal.
The rule also protects same-sex unions and interracial marriages, forcing states to recognize legal marriages without regard to “sex, race, ethnicity, or national origin.” (Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, married to former Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, of Asian roots, has voted against it.)
Furthermore, the norm repeals the Defense of Marriage Act of 1996, which defined marriage as a union between a man and a woman, allowed states not to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states, and denied the same equal federal benefits to all married couples. Although part of that law was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 2013, it had not yet been repealed.
Religious freedom
The republican support It has been essential to overcome the barrier of 60 votes in the Senate, which disables any attempt to blockade through filibustering. It has been achieved after postponing debate and voting in the Upper House until after the recent mid-term elections. And, above all, it has been achieved after including in the bill language specifying protections for religious liberty, a demand that conservatives had.
Specifically, the approved text confirms that churches, universities and other non-profit religious organizations will not be obliged to provide “any service, good or facility for the celebration or formalization of a marriage” and they will not lose their status tax breaks nor other benefits even if they discriminate against people of the same sex who want to get married. In addition, it is clear that the federal government is not authorized to recognize polygamous marriagessomething that the extreme right criticized that the law could do.
Now the House of Representatives, which in July gave the green light to the original bill with the support of 47 Republicans, must vote on the revised legislative text that advanced in the Senate on Tuesday, although its approval is taken for granted given Democratic control. of the Lower House and the support of some Republicans for the measure. It has also reaped the support from institutions such as the Mormon Church, although it continues to consider that relationships between people of the same sex are against its commandments and may continue to refuse to perform homosexual weddings and will not lose its tax advantages.
Alert since summer
The alert on the future of gay marriage in the US skyrocketed in summerwhen in the sentence derogating the protection of abortion Judge Clarence Thomas wrote an opinion in which he assured that the Supreme Court should “reconsider precedents” and examine other sentences that had legalized the access to contraceptives, las same-sex relationships and the iequality in marriage Thomas, who is black and married to a white woman, did not mention the precedent that legalized interracial marriages.
Currently 35 states from the US have in their constitutions or local laws bans of homosexual marriagehe. Those restrictions were disqualified by the 2015 ruling but it is calculated that at least 29 could come into force again if the Supreme Court repealed it, as happened with anti-abortion laws after the repeal of Roe v. Wade.
More than two-thirds of the US population supports same-sex unions. According to polls, however, opposition is also maintained by conservative groups and some Republicans, as well as religious institutions such as the Catholic Church in the US, which, unlike the Mormon Church, has not given its support to the law.
Biden’s message
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President Biden has issued a statement celebrating the achievement. “Love is love and Americans should have the right to marry the person they love”, he said, particularly applauding the bipartisan cooperation to push the legislation forward.
Statement from @POTUS on bipartisan Senate passage of the Respect for Marriage Act https://t.co/g4E9bU3Pt3
— Kevin Munoz (@KMunoz46) November 29, 2022