President Joe Biden on Tuesday signed legislation protecting same-sex and interracial marriage.
Thousands of people gathered on the White House South Lawn to commemorate the Respect for Marriage Act becoming law.
The Respect for Marriage Act passed with bipartisan support in both chambers of Congress after months of negotiation, particularly over provisions related to religion. The House voted last week 258-169 to send the bill to Biden’s desk after the Senate passed it 61-36. A minority of Republicans joined Democrats in both votes.
It became a priority for Democrats after the Supreme Court’s June decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, in which five conservative justices overruled Roe v. Wade and the national guarantee to abortion access.
Justice Clarence Thomas, in a concurring opinion, said he believed the court should reconsider other precedents based on similar legal doctrine, including 2015’s Obergefell v. Hodges — which found that the 14th Amendment requires all states to license same-sex marriages.
The Respect for Marriage Act doesn’t include Obergefell’s national requirement but will mandate that individual states recognize same-sex and interracial marriages that were lawfully performed in another state.
