In a bipartisan vote that comes just over 25 years after Congress defined marriage as a partnership between a man and a woman, the US House of Representatives gave final approval to a landmark piece of legislation guaranteeing same-sex marriage on Thursday, December 8.
The final vote was 258 to 169, with 39 Republican members voting in favor of the bill with every House Democrat. Burgess Owens of Utah, a Republican, cast a single present vote.
One of the last actions taken by the Nancy Pelosi-controlled House before the balance of power changes and the Republicans take control of the House in January was the vote.
The law will now proceed to Joe Biden, who has declared he will sign it “promptly and proudly.” The legislation offers some relief for hundreds of thousands of same-sex married couples in the US.
In order to guarantee that Americans have the freedom to wed the person they love, Congress made a crucial step today, according to Biden.
Millions of LGBTQI+ and interracial couples may rest easy knowing that the Respect for Marriage Act has been passed by the House with bipartisan support and by a sizable margin, giving them the rights and protections to which they and their children are entitled.
The Respect for Marriage Act, a landmark piece of legislation, forbids state and federal governments from contesting the legitimacy of a marriage legally consummated in another state on the grounds of sex, race, or ethnicity. It also obliges them to acknowledge same-sex and multiracial unions.
The House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, wiped tears from her eyes as she thanked the several legislators and advocates who helped the legislation become law during the bill enrolling ceremony.
We are finally witnessing the creation of history, Pelosi declared. We are not only on the right side of history, but also of the future, which is to increase freedom in America.
The law was hailed as a “very important step forward” in the country’s “long but inexorable march towards more equality” by Chuck Schumer, the majority leader in the Senate. Like many Americans, Schumer has a personal connection to the issue of marriage equality. Next year, his daughter and her wife will have their first kid.
At the enrollment ceremony, Schumer remarked, “My granddaughter will live in a world that will recognize and celebrate their mothers’ marriage today owing to the persistent campaigning of many, many in this room and the tenacious work by many of my colleagues.”
