Posted on by Randy Slovacek

House Votes To Protect Same-Sex Marriage In Bipartisan Vote

The House of Representatives has passed the Respect for Marriage Act, which would codify same sex marriage into law,  by a bipartisan vote of 267-157.

The House of Representatives has passed the Respect for Marriage Act, which would codify same sex marriage into law,  by a bipartisan vote of 267-157.

The Respect for Marriage Act would repeal the Defense of Marriage Act and require states to recognize same-sex marriages performed elsewhere. The legislation would mandate that the federal government recognize a marriage if it was valid in the state where it was performed.

All 220 Democrats in the House voted in favor of the legislation along with 47 Republicans. But 157 Republicans voted against protecting the marriages of millions of Americans.

The legislation is a direct response by Democrats to the concurrence to the Dobbs decision against abortion rights penned by U.S. Associate Justice Clarence Thomas. In his opinion, he very clearly spelled out his desire to revisit several landmark decisions from the U.S. Supreme Court.

That list of rulings  included the Obergefell decision for same-sex marriage as well as the 2003 the striking down states sodomy bans in Lawrence v. Texas and the 1965 decision striking down state bans on contraception in Griswold v. Connecticut.

The bill now goes to the Senate where it faces an uphill climb to passage. The legislation will need 60 votes to pass which means 10 Republicans would have to vote in favor. So far, the bill has one Republican, Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, as a co-sponsor.

The vast majority of Americans support the right of LGBTQ people to marry. Last month, a new Gallup poll showed a record high 70% support marriage equality.