Senate Passes Landmark Bill To Protect Same Sex Marriage, Lindsey Graham Voted No

The senate took a historic step by passing legislation to protect same-sex marriage. I should point out that (no surprise) Lady G voted not to pass the the bill.

via USA Today:

The vote to pass the Respect for Marriage Act was bipartisan – 61 to 36 – with a significant bloc of Republicans joining every Democrat in approving the landmark bill. It now heads to the House where it's expected to pass as early as next week.

Wisconsin Democrat Sen. Tammy Baldwin, the first openly gay person to serve in the Senate, said its passage should allay the concerns of same-sex and interracial couples worried their civil marriage could be stripped away.

“The Senate has the opportunity to put those fears to rest and give millions of people in same sex and interracial marriages the certainty, dignity and respect that they need and deserve,” she said before the vote.

Senators approved the bill in response to concerns the Supreme Court – with a 6-3 conservative majority – would reverse its 2015 decision recognizing the legitimacy of gay marriage just as it overturned in June the Roe v. Wade decision protecting abortion access.

A number of Republicans argued the bill would trample on the rights of churches and other faith-based organizations which would be punished if they refused to participate in or recognize gay unions. But bipartisan sponsors of the bill said the religious freedom language inserted in the measure would protect those entities from such infringements.

• The Respect for Marriage Act would guarantee federal recognition of any marriage between two people if the union was valid in the state where they married.

• It now moves to the House, which approved a similar bill earlier this year with nearly 50 Republicans in support. A vote in the House could take place as early as next Tuesday.

• The bill was drafted in response to the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade this summer and Justice Clarence Thomas expressed interest in next reconsidering same-sex and interracial marriage rights.

In an effort to show the bill would not destroy religious liberty as some Republicans content, GOP Sen. Susan Collins of Maine said the Respect for Marriage Act listed several faith-based organizations who have endorsed the amended measure including: the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, the Seventh Day Adventist Church, the National Association of Evangelicals, and the Union of Orthodox Jewish congregations.