Respect for Marriage Act Introduced to Protect Marriage Equality
From left: U.S. Sens. Dianne Feinstein, Tammy Baldwin, and Susan CollinsMembers of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives have introduced the Respect for Marriage Act, which would write equal marriage rights into law.The move comes just weeks after Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas said the court should reconsider Obergefell v.
Hodges, the 2015 ruling that established marriage equality nationwide. For the high court to do so, a case would have to come up to it from lower courts, but bringing such a case is definitely a goal of anti-LGBTQ+ forces.The legislation would repeal the Defense of Marriage Act, passed in 1996.
DOMA barred the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriages — so therefore these spouses could not file taxes jointly, receive Social Security survivors’ benefits, or access any number of other federal benefits.
It also allowed any state to deny recognition to same-sex marriages from other states. A 2013 Supreme Court decision in United States v.
