Today President Biden signed into law a bipartisan bill that will codify same-sex and interracial marriages across the nation. He hosted a large celebration at the White House that included many LGBTQ+ community center leaders.
The Respect for Marriage Act is an important bipartisan law that does two primary things. First, it repeals DOMA (the Defense of Marriage Act) and gets that anti-marriage federal law off the books. It requires the federal government to recognize a marriage between two individuals if the marriage was valid in the state where it was performed. Second, the law guarantees that valid marriages between two individuals are given full faith and credit, regardless of the couple’s sex, race, ethnicity, or national origin. The law will not require a state to issue a marriage license contrary to state law.
Passing the Respect for Marriage Act is an important step to protect LGBTQ+ couples and ensure the dignity, stability and ongoing protection that marriage affords to families and children. Like the freedom to marry, a majority of Americans support measures that protect LGBTQ+ people from discrimination in all aspects of daily life.
[Graphic reposted from #respectformarriageact on instagram.]