House of Representatives passes bill to protect same-sex marriage

The House of Representatives voted Thursday to pass the Respect for Marriage Act, which protects same-sex and interracial marriages.

With 258 votes -39 of them Republican- in favor and 169 against, the bill will now move forward after it was passed last week in the Senate with 61 votes, 12 of them Republican, in favor and 36 against. The support of several Republican senators made it possible to overcome the closing rule, which requires at least 60 favorable votes for most issues. The law passed in the House of Representatives in July with 267 votes in favor and 157 against. The text approved by the Senate was different, as several senators changed the wording to ensure that the new law did not infringe on religious freedom.

The bill will now be sent to President Joe Biden, who has already shown his support, to sign the bill into law. The law will force all states to recognize same-sex marriages. It will also protect interracial unions by forcing states to recognize marriages regardless of "sex, race, ethnicity or national origin," something that already occurs but still did not prevent a lobbying movement from calling for the drafting of this bill. The objective, according to its promoters, is to protect this right and prevent possible court rulings such as the one that reversed Roe vs. Wade and limited abortion to do the same for these types of marital unions.