Same-sex marriage bill clears House in bipartisan vote


The House of Representatives voted 258-169 on Thursday to pass the Respect for Marriage Act, thereby sending the bill to President Biden to be signed into law.
"I find it deeply poignant that, as we prepare to bring the 117th Congress to a close, we are on the cusp of a great bipartisan moral victory in defense of a fundamental right of all Americans," Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) said on the House floor. "A victory that will provide stability and reassurance to the millions of LGBTQ and interracial families that have come to rely on the constitutional right to marry."
The landmark legislation, which enshrines same-sex and interracial marriage protections into federal law, passed the Senate at the end of November, after lawmakers there amended the bill to include a provision regarding religious liberty. The bill was then sent back to the House, where an earlier version had passed in July. It will now move to Biden's desk.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
In addition to repealing the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, the Respect for Marriage Act would require that marriages be recognized in any state so long as the union was valid in the state where it was performed, per The Washington Post. It would not force states to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
The legislation arrived in response to comments from Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, who over the summer suggested the court reconsider other landmark cases and precedents the way it did Roe v. Wade.
"Just as I began my career fighting for LGBTQ communities, I am overjoyed that one of the final bills I will sign as speaker will be the Respect for Marriage Act," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) wrote in a Wednesday op-ed: "ensuring the federal government will never again stand in the way of marrying the person you love."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brigid Kennedy worked at The Week from 2021 to 2023 as a staff writer, junior editor and then story editor, with an interest in U.S. politics, the economy and the music industry.
-
Burkina Faso's misinformation war
Under The Radar The president of the West African country has quickly become the face of a viral, AI-powered propaganda campaign
-
Jeffrey Epstein's secrets
Feature Six years after his death, conspiracy theories still swirl around the sex trafficker. Why?
-
Voting: Trump's ominous war on mail ballots
Feature Donald Trump wants to sign an executive order banning mail-in ballots for the 2026 midterms
-
South Korea to fetch workers detained in Georgia raid
Speed Read More than 300 South Korean workers detained in an immigration raid at a Hyundai plant will be released
-
DC sues Trump to end Guard 'occupation'
Speed Read D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb argues that the unsolicited military presence violates the law
-
RFK Jr. faces bipartisan heat in Senate hearing
Speed Read The health secretary defended his leadership amid CDC turmoil and deflected questions about the restricted availability of vaccines
-
White House defends boat strike as legal doubts mount
Speed Read Experts say there was no legal justification for killing 11 alleged drug-traffickers
-
Florida wages crosswalk war on public displays of pride
IN THE SPOTLIGHT Gov. Ron DeSantis' campaign comes for colorful crosswalks, as Florida residents engage in guerrilla graffiti as a form of resistance
-
Epstein accusers urge full file release, hint at own list
speed read A rally was organized by Reps. Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie, who are hoping to force a vote on their Epstein Files Transparency Act
-
Court hands Harvard a win in Trump funding battle
Speed Read The Trump administration was ordered to restore Harvard's $2 billion in research grants
-
Florida aims to end all state vaccine requirements
Speed Read Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. continues to cut vaccine access and install anti-vaccine activists at the FDA and CDC