The Senate has passed a bipartisan legislation to protect same-sex marriages. This is an extraordinary sign of shifting national politics on the issue and a measure of relief for numerous same-sex couples.
The bill, which would ensure that same-sex and interracial marriages are enshrined in federal law, was approved 61-36 on Tuesday, November 29, 2022 with support from 12 Republicans.
The legislation now goes back to the House of Representatives, which is expected to approve it and send it to President Biden to sign.
Supporters of the bill hope to pass it before Republicans take control of the House in January.
President Joe Biden praised the bipartisan vote and divulged that he will sign the bill “promptly and proudly” if it is passed by the House of Representatives.
He noted that it will ensure that LGBTQ youth “will grow up knowing that they, too, can lead full, happy lives and build families of their own.”
The legislation would not force any state to allow same-sex couples to marry. However, it would require states to recognize all marriages that were legal where they were performed, and protect current same-sex unions.
It’s a stunning bipartisan endorsement, and evidence of societal change, after years of bitter divisiveness on the issue.
A new law protecting same-sex marriages would also be a major victory for Democrats as they relinquish their two years of consolidated power in Washington, and a massive win for advocates who have been pushing for decades for federal legislation.
It comes as the LGBTQ community has faced violent attacks, such as the shooting last weekend at a gay nightclub in Colorado that killed five people and injured at least seventeen.
Kelley Robinson, the incoming president of Human Rights Campaign, which advocates on LGBTQ issues remarked, “Our community really needs a win, we have been through a lot.”
“As a queer person who is married, I feel a sense of relief right now. I know my family is safe,” Robinson added.
The vote was personal for many senators, too. Wisconsin Sen. Tammy Baldwin, a Democrat who is the first openly gay senator and was the lead sponsor of the bill, tearfully hugged Schumer and others as the final vote was called.
Baldwin, who has been working on gay rights issues for almost four decades, tweeted thanks to the same-sex and interracial couples who she said made the moment possible.
Senate Majority Leader Praises Senate Decision
In a statement, Senate Majority leader Chuck Schumer hailed the decision as an advancement forward in the “long but inexorable march towards greater equality”.
“By passing this bill, the Senate is sending a message that every American needs to hear: no matter who you are or who you love, you too deserve dignity and equal treatment under the law.”
Schumer disclosed that, it was notable that the Senate was even having the debate after years of Republican opposition.
“A decade ago, it would have strained all of our imaginations to envision both sides talking about protecting the rights of same-sex married couples,” he said.
Just before bill passage, Senator Susan Collins expressed gratitude to her fellow Republicans who supported it. “I know it has not been easy, but they have done the right thing,” Collins said.
Senator Cynthia Lummis, one of the more conservative members of the Senate, spoke ahead of the final vote about her “fairly brutal self-soul searching” before supporting the bill.
Lummis intimated that she accepts her church’s beliefs that a marriage is between a man and a woman, but noted that the country was founded on the separation of church and state.
“We do well by taking this step, not embracing or validating each other’s devoutly held views, but by the simple act of tolerating them,” Lummis opined.
