Love is love and Americans should have the right to marry the person they love. Today’s bipartisan Senate vote gets us closer to protecting that right.
The Respect for Marriage Act protects all couples under law – I urge Congress to send the bill to my desk so I can make it law.
— President Biden (@POTUS) November 16, 2022
The right to marry who you love is a fundamental freedom. Today, I joined Republicans and Democrats in the Senate to advance the Respect for Marriage Act to protect that freedom. Tomorrow, we’ll vote to make it law.
— Senator Mark Kelly (@SenMarkKelly) November 16, 2022
As many people are pointing out, the bill is less than perfect — it doesn’t deny individual states the right to ban future same-sex or interracial marriages, just prevents those states from denying ‘marital benefits’ (employment-related services, dependent child adoption, health care, death benefits) to individuals already married. But it’s a step forward, and IMO an important one. I would probably injure myself in glee if the Equal Right Amendment were added to the Constitution, but I’m not gonna refuse (especially on other peoples’ behalf) all the improvements in gender-related civil liberties that have accrued to us since 1973…
Wednesday Evening Open Thread: The Respect for Marriage Act Moves ForwardPost + Comments (46)