A dissenting vote in the US Supreme Court ruling on abortion last June set off alarm bells. Judge Clarence Thomas, from the conservative majority, not only supported the suppression of abortion as a constitutional right, but also invited to review other precedents, including the one that legalized homosexual marriage throughout the country and the one that facilitated access to contraceptives. As a result, the Democrats proposed in Congress to shield marriage between people of the same sex and between people of different races. The initiative has passed a key step this Wednesday in the Senate and can become law before the end of the year, with the support even of the Mormon church.
When the Democrats introduced two bills in the summer, one in the House of Representatives and one in the Senate, they had little confidence that they would succeed. They did it more to force the Republicans to take a picture before the electorate before the legislative elections on November 8.
The proposal of the House of Representatives was approved with the vote in favor of the Democratic majority and that of 47 Republican congressmen, but where the biggest problems were expected was in the Senate, where a qualified majority of 60 senators is needed to overcome the filibustering, the blocking of the initiatives. Republican senators, however, proposed postponing the vote in the hope of gaining sufficient support after the election. This has been the case, the proposed law has passed the first step with the vote in favor of 62 senators, 12 of them Republicans.
Homosexual marriage has been legal throughout the United States since the Supreme Court, then with a progressive majority, handed down the ruling Obergefell vs. Hodges in 2015 and declared that all states are required to grant marriage licenses to same-sex couples under the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. Before, it was already legal in 37 states and the capital, Washington.
Previously, the Supreme Court had declared the Law for the Defense of Marriage, approved in 1996, unconstitutional, which only recognized the union between a man and a woman and denied federal rights and benefits to same-sex marriages.
The problem is that if the Supreme Court decided to reverse its precedents, that law would be in force again, cutting the rights of same-sex couples throughout the country. The new initiative that is being processed, the Respect for Marriage Law, repeals that norm and expressly recognizes federal rights for homosexual marriages. Even so, it is not a complete shield, because if the Supreme Court backed down, there would be States where homosexual marriage would not be legalized.
The rule still must be approved by the Senate in a few weeks and then go to the House of Representatives. The idea is to be able to approve it before the new Congress takes office at the beginning of next year, in which the Democrats will have control of the Senate and the Republicans, that of the House of Representatives, with the risk of legislative blockade that this implies.
Mormon endorsement
The high social support for homosexual marriage and some provisions included in the law have allowed Mormons of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Days to support it. Senator Mitt Romney, a Mormon, has been one of those who has voted in favor. The Mormon church reaffirms that Mormon marriage should be between a man and a woman, but separates its religious doctrine from civil regulation: “We appreciate the continued efforts of those who work to ensure that the Respect for Marriage Act includes adequate protections from religious freedom while upholding the law and preserving the rights of our LGBTQ brothers and sisters.” has said in a statement. “We believe this approach is the way to go. If we work together to preserve the principles and practices of religious liberty along with the rights of LGBTQ people, much can be done to heal relationships and foster greater understanding.”
The precautions that the law has introduced and that have allowed Mormon support consist of an express recognition of religious freedom that prevents churches from being forced to celebrate these homosexual marriages and that shields them from losing exemptions and tax benefits for not doing so .
The President of the United States, Joe Biden, has celebrated the Senate vote: “Love is love, and Americans should have the right to marry the person they love,” he said in a statement. The vote, he added, “takes the United States one step closer to protecting that right in law. The Respect Marriage Act will ensure that LGBTQI+ couples and interracial couples are equally respected and protected under federal law, and provide more security for these families since the Supreme Court decision in the case. Dobbs”, who repealed the constitutional right to abortion.
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