The US House of Representatives on Thursday passed a landmark bill protecting same-sex marriage, a precautionary move aimed at preventing the conservative-led Supreme Court from striking down that right nationwide, as He did it with abortion.
The president of the United States, Joe Biden, praised the measure, which he defined as an “essential step to guarantee Americans the right to marry the person they love.”
On the House vote, 39 Republicans joined a united Democratic majority in a rare display of bipartisanship, drawing loud cheers on the floor less than 10 days after the Senate passed the same bill.
“Today this house is proud to stand with the forces of liberty,” said outgoing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat, shortly before the vote.
In June, the conservative-majority Supreme Court struck down the right to abortion, in place since 1973, prompting lawmakers from both parties to move quickly to prevent a similar move on same-sex marriage, as some feared it would. could happen.
Biden listed marriage equality as one of his legislative priorities and has said he will “quickly and proudly” sign the bill into law.
“I started my career fighting for LGBTQ communities,” Pelosi tweeted Thursday, “and now, one of the final bills I will sign as House Speaker will ensure that the federal government will never again get in the way of those who want to get married. with the person they love.
On the floor, minutes before the vote, Pelosi paid tribute to Harvey Milk, California’s first openly gay councilman, assassinated in 1978. “He once told his supporters ‘I tasted freedom, I’m not going back,’” she recalled. The new legislation, known as the Respect Marriage Act, does not require states to legalize same-sex marriage.