House Passes Bill to Protect Same-Sex and Interracial Marriages

The House passed a bill that would provide protection for same-sex and interracial marriage under federal law, with Democratic lawmakers saying the recent Supreme Court ruling ending abortion rights could endanger other precedents.

The 267-157 vote on the Respect for Marriage Act comes the same week the chamber is also set to vote on the Right to Contraception Act. Both pieces of legislation would enshrine into law rights not enumerated in the Constitution but that the court has recognized in recent decades. Senate Democrats haven’t said if they will schedule votes on the House bills.

With these votes, Democrats are challenging Republicans to line up behind rights favored by most Americans. On the marriage bill, 47 GOP lawmakers joined with all Democrats in support, while other Republicans dismissed it as a political stunt to protect rights that don’t need protecting.

Rep. David Cicilline (D., R.I.), a co-sponsor of the marriage legislation who is gay, said “millions of LGBTQ families…are worried about the Supreme Court’s intention to rip away more freedoms.”