WASHINGTON (Michigan News Source) – Celebrants of the landmark Supreme Court decision Obergefell v. Hodges are awaiting the Senatorial verdict whether the protections granted them will be constitutionally protected, or if the states may eventually get the chance to decide like with the overturning of Roe v. Wade. 

The Respect for Marriage Act was introduced after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June, causing many to fear that the right to marriage needed to be enshrined into federal law to guarantee equal protections. 

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As one June Gallup poll indicated, most Americans to date are in support of same-sex marriages, 70% now, nearly 10% more since the 2015 Supreme Court decision.  Many expect the bill to pass the vote in the Senate later this afternoon.  

“We all know that for all the progress that we’ve made on same-sex marriage, the rights of all married couples will never truly be safe without the proper protections under federal law, and that’s why the Respect for Marriage Act is necessary,” Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said on the Senate floor on Monday.

Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Cali.) also has delivered remarks recently in favor of the Respect for Marriage Act, also referencing the Loving v. Virginia case which permitted interracial marriages.   

“We must act now so that no matter what happens in the courts, married same-sex and interracial couples are protected,” she said, “Overturning Obergefell and Loving would return the country to a patchwork of state laws where couples could be subject to state-sanctioned discrimination. Many states still have bans on same-sex marriage on the books that would immediately take effect if marriage equality were overturned.”

A bipartisan vote in the House allowed the Bill to pass to the Senate with 62 yes votes to 37 no votes.  Some Republicans are not in favor of the bill and are concerned of the long lasting effects on liberties such as religious liberty. 

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“[The bill] labels people of good faith as bigots and subjects them to endless harassing litigation and discrimination and threats by that same government that was founded to protect their religious liberty,” Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah) said on the Senate floor before the Thanksgiving recess. “We need to protect religious freedom. This bill doesn’t do that. It places it in grave jeopardy.”

In the language of the bill which was passed on July 19, the bill “repeals and replaces provisions that define, for purposes of federal law, marriage as between a man and a woman and spouse as a person of the opposite sex with provisions that recognize any marriage that is valid under state law” and also “repeals and replaces provisions that do not require states to recognize same-sex marriages from other states with provisions that prohibit the denial of full faith and credit or any right or claim relating to out-of-state marriages on the basis of sex, race, ethnicity, or national origin.”  Additionally it would permit the Department of Justice to “bring a civil action and establishes a private right of action for violations.” 

Because of this, some are concerned about the ramifications of those who do not religiously support same sex marriages such as churches.  

“Defenders of the bill deceptively claim it would only ‘codify’ Obergefell, the Supreme Court’s 2015 decision legalizing gay ‘marriage,’” CatholicVote Communications Director Joshua Mercer said, “But in reality, it would empower pro-LGBTQ operatives to sue Christian artists, wedding photographers, Catholic schools, and Catholic adoption agencies like never before.”

Senator Lee sent a letter to Republicans urging them to consider some of the consequences should the bill pass in its present state. 

“We should make explicitly clear that this legislation does not constitute a national policy endorsing a particular view of marriage that threatens the tax exempt status of faith-based non-profits,” he said, “As we move forward, let us be sure to keep churches, religious charities, and religious universities out of litigation in the first instance,” the senator continued. “No American should face legal harassment or retaliation from the federal government for holding sincerely held religious beliefs or moral convictions.”

The Senate will vote on several amendments before proceeding to the final vote on the bill.  If it passes in the upper chamber, the bill amending how the constitution defines marriage will return to the House for a vote.  From there it could go on to President Biden’s desk to be signed if it is passed in the House.