The Federal Government protects same-sex and interracial marriage
by SDMN
An important landmark in the quest for marriage equality happened on Tuesday. President Biden signed the Respect for Marriage Act (RFMA) a bill that codifies the federal recognition of same-sex and interracial marriage. This comes after several months of legislative deliberation and a vote of approval in the House of Representatives earlier this month.
Lawmakers introduced this legislation as a response to the overturning of Roe v. Wade. While the topic might not seem related directly, there is an important connection. When the Supreme Court decided to overturn abortion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, Justice Clarence Thomas suggested in a concurring opinion that the court should reconsider Obergefell v. Hodges, the case that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide.Furthermore, the arguments of the court in Dobbs puts into question many of the rights that are not explicitly given in the U.S Constitution. This includes interracial marriage and even contraception. Cathryn Oakley, of the LGBT advocacy group Human Rights Campaign, told the BBC: “these things that we thought were settled law - which people have depended on, people have built their lives around - are in fact not as settled in the eyes of the US Supreme Court as they are in the eyes of the rest of America.”
Given the risk posed by this interpretation that seems to be gaining traction in the current conservative majority of the Supreme Court, Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), and Susan Collins (R-Maine) introduced the RFMA. The law solidifies marriage equality in federal law and provides further legal protections. In addition, the bill also includes protections for interracial marriage. While it has been legal for 55 years, it was not protected by federal law. However, despite being an important step, this new law comes with limitations. The law does not require all 50 states to allow same-sex marriage. In fact, it does not limit states from banning or limiting same-sex marriage if the Obergefell decision is overturned. Furthermore, non-profit organizations, including multiple types of religious organizations, are allowed to refuse services and accommodations for the solemnization or the celebration of a marriage.
The bill passed the vote in the House with a margin of 258-169 with one representative voting “present.” The bill got support from the current Democratic majority as well as 39 Republican representatives, a notable drop-off from the 47 Republicans who supported the fill this summer. This can be attributed to the fact that because we are no longer in election season, some Republican representatives in liberal districts did not face electoral pressure to support the bill.
The RFMA also formally repeals a previous law, the Defense of Marriage Act, from 1996, which established the federal definition of marriage as a “legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife” and allowed states to refuse recognition to same-sex marriages and would deny them federal benefits. Some important provisions of this bill were invalidated by the Supreme Court in the cases United States v. Windsor and Obergefell v. Hodges in 2013 and 2015, respectively.
