Senate passes same-sex marriage bill with bipartisan support

The US Senate passed the Respect for Marriage Act on Tuesday in a bipartisan vote of 61-36, which will require the federal government to recognize all marriages, including same-sex marriages, that are legal in the state where they were held

The measure will now move to the House, where it is expected to pass in the final days as the Democratic-controlled chamber, before heading to the White House for President Joe Biden’s signature.

A handful of Republican senators, Roy Blunt, Richard Burr, Shelley Moore Capito, Susan Collins, Joni Ernst, Cynthia Lummis, Lisa Murkowski, Rob Portman, Mitt Romney, Dan Sullivan, Thom Tillis and Todd Young, earlier this month help the bill first procedural obstacle.

An amendment by Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., was adopted Monday evening aimed at ensuring the bill does not undermine religious freedom and states that the non-profit religious organizations “shall not provide services.” to a marriage that opposes.

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A handful of Republican senators voted in favor of the bill.
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On Tuesday, the Senate also considered three additional amendments to the bill by Sens. Marco Rubio, R-Florida, Mike Lee, R-Utah, and James Lankford, R-Oklahoma, that would have added stronger religious freedom protections to the measure but all failed to achieve a threshold vote for final adoption.

Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah.
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The bill is the result of months-long bipartisan negotiations. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said earlier this month that his original intention was to bring the bill up for a vote in September, but at the urging of colleagues on both sides of the aisle , chose to suspend scheduling a vote to allow time for the vote. the “bipartisan process to play.”

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, DN.Y.
(AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

“Much better to pass this legislation and advance equality than to simply have a show vote, which would be political recognition but not real change for the American people,” he said.