A bill that guarantees federal recognition of same-sex marriages has passed the U.S. Senate with bipartisan support.
Republican U.S. Sen. Susan Collins of Maine co-wrote the final version of the bill that passed the Senate on a 61-36 vote on Tuesday night. Although the Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriages seven years ago, LGBTQ groups fear the court's conservative majority could reverse that decision.
The bill would require the federal government to recognize marriages that are valid in the states. But in speeches before the series of Senate votes, Collins and other supporters pushed back against criticism from some Republicans and conservative groups that the Respect for Marriage Act would weaken religious liberty protections.
Supporters said the measure does not change existing religious liberty protections nor does it require any institutions to perform same-sex weddings or mandate that states issue their own licenses to same-sex couples. But the bill would guarantee that same-sex couples have access to the suite of federal tax or benefits enjoyed by other married couples.
The measure also officially repeals the Defense of Marriage Act, a 1996 law defining marriage as a union between one man and one woman that was struck down by the 2015 Supreme Court decision legalizing same-sex marriage.
“Shortly we will have the opportunity to make history by passing important legislation that will advance two goals: one the goal of marriage equality for same-sex and interracial couples and, second, the goal of strengthening religious liberty and conscience protections,” Collins said. “I want to thank my colleagues on both sides of the aisle who have worked so hard on this legislation. And I also want to thank the broad array of faith-based groups who worked with us on the religious liberty provisions of our bill ... But I also want to thank all of the Republicans who supported this. I know it has not been easy, but they have done the right thing.”
Collins worked with Democratic U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, who is the first openly gay member of the Senate, to negotiate language on religious liberties protections in order to pick up enough Republican support to get around a filibuster. Twelve GOP senators ultimately joined the vast majority of Democrats in voting to support the bill.
U.S. Sen. Angus King of Maine, an independent who caucuses with the Democrats, also voted for the bill.
“It’s unfortunate that a law protecting the right to marry the person you love is even necessary,” King said in a statement. “But with an activist Supreme Court that has repeatedly imposed their own religious views on the country and indicated it was open to reconsidering marriage equality rights, I feel this effort was critical to defend current and future loving couples. I’m deeply grateful that the Senate was able to come together and pass a commonsense, bipartisan law that carefully enshrines the right to same-sex and interracial marriage while respecting religious freedoms.”
The bill now heads back to the House, where it is expected to easily pass before being sent to President Joe Biden for his signature. Both of Maine’s House members, Democratic U.S. Reps. Chellie Pingree and Jared Golden, voted in support of a marriage equality bill that passed that chamber earlier this year.
Pingree called on leadership in the House to promptly bring the bill up for a vote.
“When the Supreme Court decided Loving v. Virginia in 1967 and Obergefell v. Hodges nearly 50 years later, those decisions should have forever cemented the rights of two consenting adults to marry regardless of the couple’s race or sexual orientation,” Pingree said in a statement. “But this summer Justice Thomas made it clear that the Court was coming for equal marriage rights next. That’s why it is absolutely critical that the House act swiftly to send the Respect for Marriage Act to President Biden’s desk. The civil rights of millions of married couples should not be put at risk by an overwhelmingly polarized and bigoted Supreme Court.”
