Photo: Anna Moneymaker/Getty; Anna Moneymaker-Pool/Getty
Two U.S. senators, RepublicanSusan Collinsof Maine and Democrat Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, teamed up to write an op-ed in support of theRespect for Marriage Act(RFMA)forThe Washington Post.
“Millions of American families have come to rely on the promise of marriage equality and the freedoms, rights and responsibilities that come with making the commitment of marrying the one you love,” the pair wrote in the essay published Tuesday.
Under the headline “The Senate Must Stand Together on Marriage Equality,” Collins and Baldwin describe the legislation, which passed in the U.S. House of Representatives in July in a bipartisan 267-157 vote, as “another step forward in the United States to prevent discrimination, promote equality and protect the rights of all Americans.”
Read the full text of Sens. Collins' and Baldwin’s case for passing the Respect for Marriage Act in the U.S. Senate here.
The RMFA was first introduced in 2009 and, though it passed the House and was moved to the Senate floor in 2011, the Senate vote never occurred. After the landmark Supreme Court caseObergefell v. Hodgeslegalized same-sex marriage nationwide on June 26, 2015, there seemed to be no reason to continue pushing for it.
But in the years since, as local and state laws targeting the LGBTQ+ community spread anda Supreme Court justice hinted at reconsidering theObergefellprecedent, the codification of rights at a federal level has brought RFMA back to the legislative forefront.
“Millions of American families have come to rely on the promise of marriage equality and the freedoms, rights and responsibilities that come with making the commitment of marrying the one you love,” the senators wrote for thePost.
Supporters of same-sex marriage await the groundbreaking Supreme Court ruling.Bill O’Leary/The Washington Post via Getty
When the RFMA was reintroduced earlier this summer, lawmakers added a small revision to not only codify the right to marriage for people regardless of sex, but also regardless of race, ethnicity or national origin, reaffirming the 1967 Supreme Court ruling inLoving v. Virginia, which legalized interracial marriage.
“Individuals in same-sex and interracial marriages need, and should have, the confidence that their marriages are legal,” Collins and Baldwin wrote. “These loving couples should be guaranteed the same rights and freedoms of every other marriage.”
“Over the past 30 years, Americans have grown more supportive of marriage equality. In 1996, less than one-third of Americans — a mere 27 percent — supported same-sex marriages,” they noted. “A quarter-century later, in 2022,more than 70 percentof Americans support marriage equality, including a majority of Democrats, Republicans and independents.”
However, some of Collins' Republican colleagues are amongthose who don’t.
Sens. Collins and Baldwin pointed out that the RFMA they support is “a simple, straightforward measure” that’s only four pages long and shorter than their op-ed.
“The Respect for Marriage Act would simply require the federal government to recognize a marriage if the marriage was valid in the state where it was performed,” they said. “It would guarantee legal marriages are given full faith and credit, regardless of the couple’s sex, race, ethnicity or national origin.”
Wives celebrate the legalization of same-sex marriage outside SCOTUS in 2015.AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin
The senators also addressed concerns of those who might argue that the RFMA would limit religious freedom or grant rights other kinds of relationships.
“The Respect for Marriage Act has been misunderstood, leading to false assertions and mischaracterizations of its scope,” they added. “This legislation would not, in fact, legalize or recognize polygamous relationships or marriages.”
“Moreover, religious liberty is a founding tenet of our republic, and the Respect for Marriage Act honors that principle. Our bipartisan legislation leaves intact religious liberties and protections afforded to individuals and organizations under federal law,” the senators continued.
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Collins and Baldwin, who are cosponsors of the bill, also explained their reasoning for joining forces in favor of marriage equality despite being from opposing parties.
source: people.com
