EXPLAINED: How same-sex marriage in US gets protection through Respect for Marriage Act?

United States

The US Senate passed the same-sex marriage protection bill on Tuesday that would protect the federal recognition of same-sex marriage. The measure was taken up in response to apprehensions that the Supreme Court could overturn a 2015 decision that legalised same-sex marriage in all the 50 states of the US. The bill is basically a pre-emptive measure to safeguard the rights of the LGBTQ+ community if the Supreme Court ever acted against the 2015 same-sex marriage decision in the future.

Though it will not bar states from blocking same-sex marriages if the Supreme Court allowed them to do so. 

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Talking about the bill, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Summer said in a statement, "Today, the long but inexorable march towards greater equality advances forward". He also affirmed that by passing this bill, they are sending out a message to all Americans that they are free to choose who to love, as everyone has a right to dignity and equal treatment under the law. 

The legislation now goes back to the House of Representatives, which will approve it and send it to President Joe Biden to sign. The supporters of the bill are hoping to pass it before Republicans take control of the House in January.  President Joe Biden reacted to the landmark bill and called it a "bipartisan achievement". 

The journey of legalising same-sex marriage dates back to the 1990s when various civil unions existed for same-sex couples but at the federal level, they were denied access to more than 1100 federal rights. The Defense of Marriage Act was then signed into law in 1996 and defined marriage by the federal government as between a man and a woman, which allows states to deny marriage equality.

What is the Respect for Marriage Act? 

The Respect for Marriage Act is a bipartisan bill passed in the United States Congress to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act. The Respect for Marriage Act codifies marriages and recognises the validity of same-sex and interracial marriages in the United States. The bill was first supported by former President Bill Clinton and then by the administration of former President Barack Obama. 

On 26 June 2015, the US Supreme Court ruled in Obergefell vs Hodges case that the 14th Amendment requires all the US states to recognise same-sex marriages. But the future of same-sex marriage in the United States was put back into question recently in 2022 when a concurring opinion by Justice Clarence Thomas in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization argued that the Court "should reconsider" the Obergefell decision. 

How the Respect for Marriage Bill was passed in the Senate? 

This was for the first time that the Republican senators from across the country voted with Democrats on Tuesday with a tally of 61 in favour of the bill and 36 against the bill. Among the 61 supporters of the bill, 12 were Republicans. The new bill officially repeals the Defense of Marriage Act, a 1996 law that defined marriage as existing only between a man and a woman. In 2013, the Supreme Court ruled that the law was unconstitutional.

Who all are covered under this act?

The US Supreme Court established national protections for same-sex marriage in 2015's historic Obergefell v Hodges decision. The ruling struck down existing state bans on gay marriage, giving same-sex partners the right to marry across the US and extending them the same legal rights and benefits enjoyed by heterosexual married couples. The recent act covers all same-sex partners — lesbians, and gays, and gives them the right of marriage and contraception. 

Though there is one religious exception to this that was emphasised by the Republicans that the non-profit organisations and religious organisations are not bound to provide their support for same-sex marriages.

"I will be supporting the substitute amendment because it will ensure our religious freedoms are upheld and protected, one of the bedrocks of our democracy", said West Virginia Sen. Shelley Moore Capito in a statement.  

Which was the first country to legalise same-sex marriage?

According to Pew Research Center, the first country to legalise same-sex marriage was The Netherlands. In December 2000, the Dutch parliament passed a landmark bill with a tally of 3-1 allowing the practice of marriage, divorce, and child adoption for same-sex couples. The legislation altered a single sentence in the existing civil marriage statute, which now reads, "A marriage can be contracted by two people of different or the same sex". 

Politicians from the 1990s have evolved along with the country. However, now a Supreme Court relic Justice Clarence Thomas from the 1990s is questioning the 2015 marriage decision that he opposed. As a result, Republicans and Democrats have joined forces once more to undo what they did in 1996 and ensure marriage is a right for all Americans.