Washington, United States

A landmark bill that will give federal protection to same-sex marriage was passed by the US Congress on Thursday (December 8). The bill was passed after a vote of 258-169, with all of the chamber's Democrats and 39 Republicans voting in favour. On the other hand, 169 of the chamber's Republicans voted against it and one voted "present". 

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President Joe Biden, who vouched for the bill, has promised that he will quickly sign the measure into law. It will be called the Respect for Marriage Act. 

The bill had won the senate's approval last month with a vote of 61-36. Shortly before the vote, outgoing House Democratic Speaker Nancy Pelosi said: "Today this chamber proudly stands with the forces of freedom." 

Today's vote was needed to reconcile minor differences with the Senate's version. 

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Pelosi tweeted on Thursday, "I began my career fighting for LGBTQ communities and now, one of the final bills that I will sign as Speaker will ensure the federal government never again stands in the way of marrying the person you love." 

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During the debate, David Cicilline, a Democrat from Rhode Island said, "I urge all those here today who previously voted against this bill to reconsider, be part of history, and join us in voting for its passage today. Today’s vote is a monumental win in the fight LBTQ+ equality but the work does not stop here. We remain the only minority group in America where in a majority of states it still legal to discriminate against us in several key areas of life." 

Jim Jordan, a Republican from Ohio said, "For years, the Democrats have been playing a dangerous game with the Court. They want Americans to believe that the Court lacks transparency and struggles with its ethics, simply not true. This bill is simply the latest installment of the Democrats campaign to intimidate the highest Court in our land." 

After the passage of the bill, a 1996 US law called the Defense of Marriage Act will be revoked. It had denied federal benefits to same-sex couples. It bars states from rejecting the validity of out-of-state marriages on the basis of sex, race or ethnicity.

The Supreme Court in 1967 declared prohibitions on interracial marriage unconstitutional. 

Now, the new legislation does not require states to legalize same-sex marriage but does require them to recognize a marriage so long as it was valid in the state where it was performed.

(With inputs from agencies) 

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