Last week, the Senate voted to pass the Respect for Marriage Equality Act and it then got passed to the House of Representatives. Today (December 8 2022) The House voted to pass it as well. All that is left is for President Biden to sing it into law, which he has already promised to do.
But what exactly does it mean?
This legislation holds that same sex and interracial marriages will be recognized at a federal level, even when some states don’t recognize it at a state level. It also holds that marriages performed in states where same sex and interracial marriages are legal must be respected and held as legal in other states, should the couple move or travel.
While there is still significant uncertainty ahead of the Supreme Court’s decision whether to uphold or overturn these marriages, it is an enormous step forward.
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