The U.S. Senate is expected to vote this week on the Respect for Marriage Act, which would clarify important rights and protections in the face of threats to marriage equality. Please contact your senators NOW and urge them to pass this bill. Here’s why and what to do.
The Respect for Marriage Act (RMA) is a necessary piece of legislation that will minimize the harms if the U.S. Supreme Court overturns its rulings requiring marriage equality (Obergefell) and/or federal recognition of same-sex couples’ marriages (Windsor), as Justice Clarence Thomas hinted could happen. Thirty-five states still have statutes or constitutional amendments banning marriage for same-sex couples, per the Movement Advancement Project, which would presumably go into immediate effect if Obergefell is overturned.
U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) tweeted yesterday afternoon, however, “I just took steps on the Senate floor to set up a first procedural vote for Wednesday on legislation to codify marriage equality into law.”
This is a little misleading, as it would not mandate marriage equality in all states, but would ensure that marriages that are entered into in a valid location are recognized by all states and the federal government.
In more detail, the RMA would:
- Repeal the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which, despite being effectively defunct after the Supreme Court rulings in Windsor and Obergefell, remains on the books. (If you need a refresher: DOMA defines marriage as between one man and one woman and allows states and the federal government to refuse recognition to marriages of same-sex couples.)
- Establish marriage equality for federal law purposes, recognizing all marriages that were valid where they were performed. If Obergefell and Windsor are overturned, this would ensure that anyone already married would continue to have their marriages recognized in federal and state law.
- Prohibit states from denying full faith and credit to an out-of-state marriage because of the sex, race, ethnicity, or national origin of the individuals in the marriage, as long as the marriage was valid where it was performed.
It would also give the Attorney General the power to enforce this law, and give private individuals the right to pursue legal action if they are harmed by a violation of the RMA.
Yesterday, Senators Rob Portman (R-OH), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Susan Collins (R-ME), Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), and Thom Tillis (R-NC), released a statement saying that they’ve been working to garner Senate support, and: “Through bipartisan collaboration, we’ve crafted commonsense language to confirm that this legislation fully respects and protects Americans’ religious liberties and diverse beliefs, while leaving intact the core mission of the legislation to protect marriage equality.” They “are confident that this amendment has helped earn the broad, bipartisan support needed to pass our commonsense legislation into law.” (Were our religious liberties really threatened by the bill without that amendment? I’d argue not, but if this is what it takes to get the bill passed, I’m okay with it.)
A slightly different version of the RMA passed the U.S. House in July on a bipartisan vote, with 47 Republicans joining Democrats.
Senator Schumer has scheduled a cloture vote in the Senate for Wednesday. That’s a procedural vote to limit the time for debate on the bill so that it must soon come to a final vote and cannot be filibustered. (Go (re)watch The West Wing episode “The Stackhouse Filibuster” if you need a refresher.)
Is it a perfect bill? No. Is it a necessary one at our current political moment? Undeniably yes.
Call Your Senators Now
Call the Capitol switchboard at 202.224.3121 today and ask to be connected to your Senators. (Don’t know who they are? Look them up on the Senate website.)
Tell them that you’re a constituent and want them to support the Respect for Marriage Act. If you wish, share a sentence or two about why. (E.g., in my case, I might say, “I’m a lesbian mom and my child deserves the protections that having married parents gives him. This is extremely important to me.”)
Stop reading. Go make your calls.