Courtney Votes to Shield Americans' Right to Same-Sex and Interracial Marriage as House Passes the Respect for Marriage Act

Press Release

Today, Congressman Joe Courtney (CT-02) voted to pass legislation in the House of Representatives that would shield marriage equality for same-sex and interracial couples into federal law. The Respect for Marriage Act (H.R. 8404) would codify the rights guaranteed to Americans through U.S. Supreme Court decisions such as Obergefell and Loving, it would officially repeal the discriminatory Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), and it would provide additional legal protections to marriage equality in the United States. The bill was passed in the House by a vote of 267-157, and will now await consideration by the Senate.

"It hasn't taken long for extremists to seize on the rollback of Roe v. Wade, and to use it as a foothold to assail other rights we've fought for generations in this country to secure," said Rep. Courtney. "As consenting adults, Americans have the right to love who they choose, and to marry who they love--life is simply too hard to deny any person that basic freedom and humanity. The Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe is turning long-settled precedent on our freedoms into disturbing new battlegrounds, and today the House responded with force to preemptively quash any potential challenge to Americans' right to marry who they love. The Respect for Marriage Act codified the rights guaranteed through Obergefell into law, and I was proud to help pass it in the House today. The Senate needs to follow suit, immediately."

Since the U.S. Supreme Court struck down its 49-year-old precedent protecting abortion rights nationwide, Americans have already seen the beginnings of an effort to roll back other freedoms that stem from our basic right to privacy--including the right to love and marry who we choose, the right to access contraceptives, and more. For example, over the weekend, Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) stated that the U.S. Supreme Court Case Obergefell vs. Hodges was "clearly wrong when it was decided," and that "Obergefell, like Roe v. Wade, ignored two centuries of our nation's history. Marriage was always an issue that was left to the states."

In his concurring opinion to the recent Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization decision, Justice Clarence Thomas explicitly called on the Supreme Court to reconsider its decisions protecting same-sex marriage and other fundamental rights. Thomas wrote that although nothing in the Dobbs decision "should be understood to cast doubt on precedents that do not concern abortion […] in future cases, we should reconsider all of this Court's substantive due process precedents, including Griswold, Lawrence, and Obergefell."

An analysis from the Pew Research Center determined that without the Court's upholding of Obergefell, most states would revive a prohibition on same-sex marriage without immediate legislative action. 35 states ban same-sex marriage in their constitutions, state law, or both, according to the analysis--all were invalidated by the 2015 Obergefell ruling, and all would kick back in should the Supreme Court overturn the right to same-sex marriage.

The Respect for Marriage Act would codify the right to same-sex and interracial marriage guaranteed by Obergefell into law. Specifically, the bill would:

Enshrine Marriage Equality for Federal Law Purposes--The bill requires, for federal law purposes, that an individual be considered "married" if the marriage was valid in the state where it was performed. This gives same-sex and interracial couples additional security that they will continue to enjoy equal treatment under federal law as all other married couples, as the Constitution requires.
Repeal the Discriminatory Defense of Marriage Act of 1996 (DOMA)--Although the Supreme Court effectively rendered DOMA inert through landmark decisions in United States v. Windsor and Obergefell, this unconstitutional and discriminatory law still officially remains on the books. This bill would officially repeal the statute.
Provide Additional Protections Against Discriminatory State Law--The bill prohibits any person acting under color of state law from denying full faith and credit to an out-of-state marriage based on the sex, race, ethnicity, or national origin of the individuals in the marriage. The bill also provides the U.S. Attorney General with the authority to pursue enforcement actions, and creates a private right of action for any individual harmed by a violation of this provision.

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