Democrat-led House passes bill to codify same-sex marriage, redefine institution

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

56% : Nadler described the legislation as "an important step toward protecting the many families and children who rely on the rights and privileges underpinned by the constitutional guarantee of marriage equality."
56% : In other words, all states must recognize same-sex marriages as valid.
56% :Public opinion polling reveals strong support for same-sex marriage nationwide.
54% : Same-sex marriage has achieved majority support in most states, while majorities of residents in only two states, Arkansas (52%) and Mississippi (55%), oppose it.
49% : Additionally, although he characterized Obergefell and other cases involving substantive due process as "demonstrably erroneous," Thomas indicated an openness to determining "whether other constitutional provisions guarantee the myriad rights that our substantive due process cases have generated," including same-sex marriage.
47% : While expressing support for same-sex marriage, the bill's lead sponsors pointed to Thomas' concurring opinion as the justification for passing the legislation.
47% : In the event that the Supreme Court does overturn Obergefell, each state would have the authority to decide whether to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
47% : The legislation, which the House approved before the Dobbs decision, would codify the right to abortion into federal law and limit the ability of states to pass pro-life laws.
46% : Noting that the doctrine of substantive due process was used to insist that the Constitution contained a right to abortion, he suggested that the Supreme Court should "reconsider all of this Court's substantive due process precedents," including Obergefell.
46% : Before the Windsor and Obergefell decisions, voters in 30 states had approved constitutional amendments banning same-sex marriage, according to Pew Research Center.
45% : Data collected in 2021 from the Public Religion Research Institute revealed that 68% of Americans support same-sex marriage compared to 30% who oppose it.
44% : Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., the bill's sponsor, lamented that "three weeks ago, a conservative majority on the Supreme Court not only repealed Roe v. Wade and walked back 50 years of precedent, it signaled that other rights, like the right to same-sex marriage, are next on the chopping block.""As this court may take aim at other fundamental rights, we cannot sit idly by as the hard-earned gains of the equality movement are systematically eroded.
42% : Critics of the Respect for Marriage Act, including Terry Schilling of the conservative advocacy organization American Principles Project, have warned that the legislation will negatively impact religious liberty in the U.S., much like the Obergefell decision did: "The consequences of the court's redefining of marriage have been extensive, affecting nearly every American.
39% : However, Thomas agreed with the majority opinion in Dobbs that "[n]othing in [the court's] opinion should be understood to cast doubt on precedents that do not concern abortion."
38% : While Obergefell and an earlier Supreme Court decision, United States v. Windsor, struck down DOMA as unconstitutional, supporters of the Respect for Marriage Act are attempting to codify same-sex marriage into law.
37% : The push for the codification of the 2015 court decision follows the June 24 Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization ruling that overturned the Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion nationwide.
37% : At the same time, voters in three states had voted to legalize same-sex marriage at the ballot box in 2012, while Minnesota voters rejected a ballot measure seeking to ban same-sex marriage in the state constitution.
37% : A handful of other states had legalized same-sex marriage via state legislative action or a state court decision while the remaining states either had statutory bans on same-sex marriage or laws that did not explicitly ban or legalize it.
36% : A 2006 effort to add a ban on same-sex marriage to the U.S. Constitution failed to achieve the necessary votes for passage.
34% : Members of the Democratic-led House who are fearful that the U.S. Supreme Court might one day overturn the Obergefell v. Hodges decision that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide passed legislation Tuesday that seeks to codify same-sex marriage into law.

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