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The Senate has voted to advance a bill that would protect same-sex and interracial marriages under federal law, setting the legislation on a path to final passage.
The Respect for Marriage Act would not force states to issue same-sex marriage licenses, but does require them to recognize same-sex marriages performed elsewhere. It also recognizes these marriages under federal law for the consideration of benefits like Medicare and Social Security. All 50 Democrats and 12 Republicans voted to advance the bill, clearing a 60-vote threshold.
The push to codify marriage rights comes in the wake of this summer’s Supreme Court opinion that reversed Roe v. Wade and potentially called other decisions into question. In his concurring opinion, Justice Clarence Thomas noted that the landmark 2015 case that legalized same-sex marriage, Obergefell v.
