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The Senate is set to take a procedural vote Wednesday on the Respect for Marriage Act, a bill that would codify same-sex and interracial marriage into federal law.
The bill, entitled the «Respect for Marriage Act,» was first passed by the Democratic-controlled House in July amid concerns that the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade in June might put marriage equality at risk as well.
In a concurring opinion to that ruling, which ended 50 years of a constitutional right to an abortion, conservative Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas suggested that the precedent underpinning same-sex marriage — which was legalized by the Court in the 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges ruling — should be «reconsidered» as well.
The bill garnered 47 Republican votes when it passed the House in July, but momentum slowed when it reached the Senate, where Republicans expressed concerns about religious liberty protections.
