U.S. House passes bill codifying same-sex marriage

House passes bill protecting marriage equality, with 47 GOP members voting ‘yes’

The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill on Tuesday that protects the rights of gay people to get married. This came after the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, which put at risk similar precedents that protected the rights of same-sex couples and people who want to use birth control.

The bill, which was supported by 47 Republicans and passed the Democratic-controlled chamber by a vote of 267-157, creates federal safeguards for homosexual marriage and makes it illegal for anybody to question the legality of a marriage based on the race or sex of the couple.

It will now be put to a vote in the Senate, where the chances are hard to tell because the chamber is split down the middle. The leaders of the House Republicans told them to vote how they felt, and they did not force them to vote against the bill.

The bill was put forward by the head of the House Judiciary Committee, Jerrold Nadler, after the Supreme Court overturned its landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling, which gave women the right to an abortion under federal law.

Given part of his concurring opinion, Justice Clarence Thomas suggested that the Supreme Court should also reconsider its previous opinions that secured access to contraception and the right to gay marriage in 2015, as both of these decisions relied on the same line of reasoning as Roe v. Wade.

A few Republicans in Congress have stated that they agree with Thomas’ points. Senator Ted Cruz, a Republican, stated on Saturday that the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold gay marriage as a constitutionally protected right was “obviously incorrect.”

In the event that the Supreme Court decides to reconsider its previous decisions, Democrats have advocated for Congress to codify the right to homosexual marriage into federal law.

According to a statement released by Nadler on Monday, he warned, “The liberties and freedoms that we have grown to value will dissolve under a fog of radical ideology and dubious legal reasoning.” [Citation needed]

If the Supreme Court decides to reverse its previous verdict, the House bill would allow individual states to continue to prohibit homosexual marriage. On the other hand, these states would be obligated to acknowledge weddings that took place in states where they are still lawful.

On Thursday, the House will vote on a bill that would ensure access to contraception for all people in the country. This is another right that Thomas proposed the court reconsider.

Ahead of the midterm elections on November 8, Democrats are expecting that the proposals will provide a contrast to Republicans. These elections come at a time when Democrats’ majority control on the House and the Senate is threatened by rising inflation.