US President Joe Biden signed into law Tuesday a bill granting federal protections to same-sex marriage. He did it accompanied by a multitude of guests, who gathered at the White House to celebrate the legislative milestone.
Joe Biden touted the landmark law as a victory for rights. Before, as vice president, he had already spoken publicly in favor of same-sex unions, even before they were legalized throughout the United States in a 2015 Supreme Court decision.
“America is taking a vital step toward equality, liberty, and justice, not just for some, but for all,” he said during a signing ceremony Tuesday afternoon. “This law and the love it stands for strike a blow against hate in all its forms,” she said on the South Lawn of the White House.
It was a ceremony in which singers Sam Smith and Cyndi Lauper performed, and in which Vice President Kamala Harris recalled having officiated a lesbian wedding in San Francisco.
Among the attendees was the owner of Club Q, a gay nightclub in Colorado where five people were killed in a shooting last month, and two survivors of the attack. The suspect has been charged with hate crimes.
Joe Biden, on his Twitter, added: “Marriage is a simple proposition: who do you love? And will you be loyal to the one you love? It doesn’t get more complicated than that. The Respect Marriage Act recognizes that everyone should have right to answer those questions for themselves.”
Marriage is a simple proposition: who do you love? And will you be loyal to the person you love?
It’s not more complicated than that.
The Respect for Marriage Act recognizes that everyone should have the right to answer those questions for themselves.
—President Biden (@POTUS) December 13, 2022
A levee against the Court
After the now significantly more conservative US Supreme Court struck down longstanding abortion rights in June, lawmakers on the left and right banded together to prevent any further moves to curb marriage rights. between people of the same sex.
The final passage of the legislation by Congress last week was a rare display of bipartisanship in a deeply divided Washington.
To celebrate, Biden met with a group of Republican and Democratic lawmakers on the White House grounds, along with advocates and plaintiffs in marriage equality cases across the country.
Tammy Baldwin, the first openly gay US senator, said she was “overjoyed” by the signing of the law, which she helped draft in Congress.
“Today, we are making history and making a difference for millions of Americans,” he said in a statement, adding: “We are telling the millions of same-sex and interracial couples that we see and respect them.”
A pioneer is also Karine Jean-Pierre, the first openly gay White House press secretary. In public statements she said that “the legislation will give peace of mind to millions of LGBTQI+ and interracial couples who will finally be guaranteed the rights and protections to which they and their children are entitled.”
7 years from its legalization
Hundreds of thousands of same-sex couples have married since the 2015 Supreme Court decision legalizing unions across the United States.
Public acceptance has grown in recent decades, and polls now show that a large majority of Americans support same-sex marriage.
According to AP data, in 1996 only 27% of Americans supported gay marriage. The figure in 2012 was 50%. While in 2022 it already reaches 71% support.
However, some conservatives and the religious right continue to oppose it.
What is the law?
The new legislation, known as the Respect Marriage Act, does not require states to legalize same-sex marriage, but does require them to recognize a marriage as long as it is valid in the state where it was performed.
It repeals previous legislation that defined marriage as between a man and a woman, and also protects interracial couples by requiring states to recognize legal marriages without regard to “sex, race, ethnicity, or national origin.”
In the House of Representatives, 39 Republicans joined a united Democratic majority in supporting the bill, while 169 Republicans voted against it. It was previously adopted in the Senate split evenly by a vote of 61 to 36.
“A lot of work to do”
White House spokeswoman Jean-Pierre said Monday that Biden believes “there is still much more work to be done to protect LGBTQI+ people across the country.”
He recalled that the 80-year-old Democrat was one of the first American political leaders to publicly support same-sex unions at the highest levels of government.
In 2012, Biden caused a stir by outspokenly declaring his support for same-sex unions, when Barack Obama’s White House was still searching for the best way to make official the position of the president in full re-election for a second term.
“I got in trouble,” Biden quipped at the time. Three days later, Obama himself publicly supported gay marriage.
After his own presidential election in 2020, Biden chose Pete Buttigieg to become his transportation secretary, the first openly gay person to be confirmed by the Senate for a cabinet post.
And beyond the issue of marriage, the Biden administration has taken a strong stance in support of LGBTQI+ rights, especially toward the transgender community, whose push for greater rights has become a political flashpoint in the country.
The administration introduced gender-neutral passports, which allow people who do not identify as male or female to select gender “X,” and lifted the ban on transgender people serving in the military, introduced under Biden’s predecessor, Donald Trump.
This article is an adaptation of its original in English
