LGBT+ rights win: US House passes same sex marriage bill

United States – The United States House has passed a bill aimed to protect the right to same sex and interracial marriages in the country. The vote comes amid rising concerns that the US Supreme Court’s action of overturning of Roe v Wade might jeopardize other rights of people.

The voting in House

Forty seven House Republicans have supported the passed legislation, which is being called the “Respect for Marriage Act”. These also include some Republicans in the House who have “publicly apologized for their past opposition to gay marriage”.

However, more than three-quarters of the Republicans in House have voted against the bill, some claiming it as a “political charade”.

The bill received support of all 220 Democrats of the House that is expected to be blocked by Republican opposition in Senate.

Republicans against the bill

Same sex marriage has garnered major support in the US, including majorities of both Republican and Democratic voters. Standing in opposition of the bill are Republican politicians in both the House and Senate, who have claimed that the bill is “mere political posturing from Democrats and that same sex and interracial marriages are not actually under attack”.

“We are here for a political charade, we are here for political messaging,” said congressman Jim Jordan of Ohio, the top Republican on the judiciary committee who has voiced his opposition to the Respect for Marriage Act.

“I’m probably not inclined to support it,” Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri, said of the bill. “The predicate of this is just wrong. I don’t think the supreme court is going to overturn any of that stuff.”

What will the bill put on table?

The bill passed in House is a big win for LGBT+ community in the United States. The Respect for Marriage Act would repeal a Clinton era law that defines marriage as “a heterogeneous relationship between a man and a woman”. The bill will also offer legal protections for people in interracial marriages by “prohibiting any state from denying out-of-state marriage licenses and benefits on the basis of sex, race, ethnicity or national origin”.