On Thursday, the House of Representatives passed a bill to codify same-sex marriage by a 258-169 margin. Therefore, making good on Nancy Pelosi’s promise to enroll a preservation bill for same-sex marriage as one of her final acts as Speaker of the House.
She wrote in an op-ed to the Washington Post, “In June, the Republican supermajority on the Supreme Court eviscerated long-standing precedent and the right to privacy with its disgraceful decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. Justice Clarence Thomas took explicit aim at marriage equality: urging the court to reconsider Obergefell and upend the lives of countless families across the country.”
Pelosi added, “While his legal reasoning is twisted and unsound, we must take Justice Thomas — and the extremist movement behind him — at their word.”
The legislation, which also includes provisions for protecting interracial marriage, was voted in favor by all 219 Democrats, and 39 Republicans.
Now the bill is heading to President Joe Biden’s desk, where it is expected to be signed into law.
NBC News reported:
The House passed legislation Thursday that enshrines federal protections for marriages of same-sex and interracial couples.
The vote of 258-169 sends the Respect for Marriage Act to President Joe Biden, who praised Congress for passing the bill and is expected to sign it into law. It comes after the Senate passed the same bill last week by a vote of 61-36.
Democrats were unified in favor of the bill, while most Republicans in both chambers voted against it. Thirty-nine House Republicans supported the legislation Thursday and one voted present.
The House Republicans who voted in favor of the Respect for Marriage Act are as follows:
- Kelly Armstrong of North Dakota
- Don Bacon of Nebraska
- Ken Calvert of California
- Kat Cammack of Florida
- Mike Carey of Ohio
- Liz Cheney of Wyoming
- John Curtis of Utah
- Rodney Davis of Illinois
- Tom Emmer of Minnesota
- Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania
- Mike Gallagher of Wisconsin
- Andrew Garbarino of New York
- Mike Garcia of California
- Carlos Gimenez of Florida
- Tony Gonzales of Texas
- Anthony Gonzalez of Ohio
- Jamie Herrera Beutler of Washington
- Ashley Hinson of Iowa
- Darrell Issa of California
- Chris Jacobs of New York
- David Joyce of Ohio
- John Katko of New York
- Nancy Mace of South Carolina
- Nicole Malliotakis of New York
- Peter Meijer of Michigan
- Mariannette Miller-Meeks of Iowa
- Blake Moore of Utah
- Dan Newhouse Washington
- Jay Obernolte of California
- Tom Rice of South Carolina
- Mike Simpson of Idaho
- Elise Stefanik of New York
- Bryan Steil of Wisconsin
- Chris Stewart of Utah
- Mike Turner of Ohio
- Fred Upton of Michigan
- David Valadao of California
- Ann Wagner of Missouri
- Michael Waltz of Florida
The bill comes Amon concerns that the Supreme Court might revisit the 2015 ruling that states must allow same-sex couples to wed following the landmark decision to overturn Roe v. Wade earlier this year.
The stark difference in the two cases, though, is that one ends the lives of innocent human beings while the other does not. I would not expect the Supreme Court to bother with trying to overturn same-sex marriage as it does not physically harm anyone.
