Demonstration in Colorado in favor of homosexual unions. /
Twelve conservative senators join Democrats to win passage of historic law in a divided Congress
Love works miracles. The mystics, the lovers and, now, the politicians say it. The miracle of bipartisanship that was manifested this Tuesday in the United States Senate had many legislators in tears and others so touched by the succession of personal stories that they did not dare to criticize out loud the approval of the law that will protect marriage between people of the same sex throughout the country.
“Love is love and Americans should have the right to marry the person they love,” President Joe Biden stoned in an official White House statement. Six months ago it seemed unthinkable that such a delicate and sensitive issue could be approved in a radically divided Congress, and on top of that, have the support of 12 conservative senators.
For some it was personal. Senator Tammy Baldwin became the first gay woman in the Senate in 2017 and, although she has separated from her partner by now, she hopes to find love again in another woman. “Many same-sex and mixed-racial couples are afraid and worried that their rights, responsibilities and freedoms will be taken away from them,” she told the House.
One of these couples is the one formed by the daughter of the Democratic leader of the Senate, Chuck Schumer, married to another woman and expecting her first child. “Could the Supreme undo your marriage?” Asked the Democratic leader, who has become a staunch defender of the “Respect for Marriage Law”, which will replace the one that defended it as the sacrament between a man and a woman .
Threats to legislators
Allison Schumer, 31, and Elizabeth Weiland, whom he married two years ago, have been his motivators, but it was his ability to accept a pause that has allowed the legislation to emerge with bipartisan support, which has returned hope to a divided country. With the election campaign winding down, Schumer agreed in September to postpone the Senate vote so Republican lawmakers wouldn’t have to choose between doing the right thing and staying in office.
Some have had to endure death threats, such as Wyoming Senator Cinthia Lummis, who gave one of the most emotional speeches of the day in the House with a call for tolerance. The law, which still has to be agreed with the version of the Lower House, before it is signed by President Joe Biden, has made an important concession to religious groups, which will not be obliged to recognize unions between homosexuals to provide them with the benefits they give to other couples.