By Mona Austin
In the U.S Senate on Tuesday, the Respect for Marriage Act, passed with a bi-partisan vote of up 61 to 36/ Twelve Republicans joins the Democrats in agreeing to federal protection fpr gay adn interracial marraige. The law, should it pass in the house, will allow full sposal privileges to same sex couple related to health and unsurabce benefits by designating that marraige is not jsut between a man and a woman. The langauge specifies that couple can get full marital benefits for marriage “regardless of the couple’s sex, race, ethnicity, or national origin.” In codifying existing same sex marraige lays, couples do not have to cross state luines to get married if it is bannes in their state.
- It repeals the Defense of Marriage Act, which has been ruled unconstitutional, but is still on the books.
"With today's bipartisan Senate passage of the Respect for Marriage Act, the United States is on the brink of reaffirming a fundamental truth: love is love, and Americans should have the right to marry the person they love," the president said in a statement. "For millions of Americans, this legislation will safeguard the rights and protections to which LGBTQI+ and interracial couples and their children are entitled. It will also ensure that, for generations to follow, LGBTQI+ youth will grow up knowing that they, too, can lead full, happy lives and build families of their own."
In a separate stetment Vice Presidnet Kamala Harris said the bill stands for the simple principle that all Americans are equal.