The Senate on Thursday was on the verge of passing religious protection for a same-sex marriage rights bill, which will mark final approval of the Marriage Respect Act later this week.
“Through bipartisan collaboration, we have developed common sense to affirm that this legislation fully respects and protects the religious freedoms and diverse beliefs of Americans, while preserving the core mission of the legislation to protect marriage equality,” she said in a statement. joint statement with Democrat Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona and Republicans Susan Collins of Maine, Thom Tillis of North Carolina and Ron Portman of Ohio.
The bill would guarantee federal recognition of any marriage between two people if the union was valid in the state where it was performed. It would also require states to accept the legitimacy of a valid marriage performed elsewhere, but would not require any state to issue a marriage license in violation of its own law.
“We all know that despite all the progress we’ve made on gay marriage, the rights of all married couples will never truly be secure without proper protections under federal law,” said Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, DN.Y. on the Senate floor Monday afternoon prior to the vote. “Passing this bill is our chance to send a message to Americans everywhere: No matter who you are or who you love, you too deserve dignity and equal treatment under the law. That’s about as American (an) ideal as it comes.”
