President Joe Biden on Tuesday signed the Respect for Marriage Act into law, codifying federal protections for same-sex and interracial marriage, Common Dreams reports.
The bill was passed in the Senate last month and approved by the House last week. The bill came after Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, in his opinion on the Dobbs case, suggested that the court should reexamine its precedent in Obergefell v. Hodges, the landmark case that effectively legalized same-sex marriage nationwide.
Republicans rejected arguments that the right to same-sex marriage was under threat even as others condemned it as an attack on the nuclear family.
Biden signed the bill on the South Lawn of the White House, slamming "callous, cynical laws introduced in the states targeting transgender children, terrifying families and criminalizing doctors who give children the care they need."
"Racism, antisemitism, homophobia, transphobia—they're all connected," he said. "But the antidote to hate is love. This law and the love it defends strike a blow against hate in all its forms."
Dems celebrate:
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi hailed the new law as "a landmark victory in the fight for full equality enshrining the foundational right to marry the person you love into the law of the land."
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said that "thanks to the millions out there who spent years pushing for change, and thanks to the dogged work of my colleagues, my grandchild will get to live in a world that respects and honors their mothers' marriage."
LGBTQ groups praise:
Janson Wu, the executive director of GLAD, said in a statement that "this is a joyful day. Millions of couples and their children across the country now have the assurance that their families will continue to be respected by our state and federal governments because President Biden has signed the Respect for Marriage Act into law."
"The effort to pass the Respect for Marriage Act spanned decades and involved the work of so many. The law's passage this year demonstrates the strong and growing support for equality among Americans of all political parties and from all walks of life," Wu added.
