Americas LGBTQ community can breathe a small sigh of relief.
President Joe Biden on Tuesday signed into law the Respect for Marriage Act, formally repealing prior federal legislation that sought to exclude the LGBTQ community and providing a fail-safe measure should the Supreme Courts right-wing majority do to marriage equality and interracial marriages what it did to abortion rights.
“Today’s a good day a day America take a vital step towards equality,” Biden said at a White House signing ceremony.
“The road to this moment has been long, but those who believe in equality and justice, you never gave up,” he added.
Prior to the event, Biden used Twitter to call the legislation a landmark civil rights bill that honors the courage and sacrifice of generations of couples who fought for marriage equality and equal rights.
If there is one message that breaks through from today, it’s that this law and the love it defends strikes a blow against hate in all its forms, Biden said.
Hundreds of LGBTQ activists, advocates, and entertainers were present at the White House to witness the bill become law a rare moment of celebration for a community that has found itself targeted by political vitriol and deadly attacks in 2022, unnerving activists and drag queens alike.
Its just a huge honor to be included among the people who are here to celebrate this victory for our community, New York City drag artist and activist Marti Cummings told BuzzFeed News.
Also among those invited to the occasion was Andrew Hartzler, an openly gay man who went viral last week when he spoke out against his aunt, Missouri Republican Rep. Vicky Hartzler, when she used a floor speech in the House to tearfully and unsuccessfully plead with her colleagues to vote against the bill.
I immediately started crying because it was just so surreal, Andrew said of the moment he received his invitation this past weekend. Its really an honor. It says a lot about the power of your own voice and standing up for what you think or what you know is the truth and how far that will truly get you.
The new law will guarantee the federal government recognizes marriages for same-sex and interracial couples should the nations top court try to unwind civil rights jurisprudence something LGBTQ activists had feared might happen when Justice Clarence Thomas used the courts decision overturning abortion rights to call for past cases on marriage equality and contraception to be reviewed next.
Congress cant require states to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples because the US Constitution grants states, not the federal government, the power to determine who may wed. But should the Supreme Court overturn Obergefell v. Hodges, the 2015 case that stopped states from discriminating against same-sex couples in marriage, this new law means that the federal government will still recognize such marriages. States might once again outlaw marriage equality, but they will still have to recognize marriages of same-sex couples legally performed elsewhere.
It also formally repeals the Defense of Marriage Act, or DOMA, a 1996 law that first denied federal rights and benefits to same-sex couples.
“With the stroke of the president’s pen, the fundamental right to marry the person you love is enshrined in the law,” outgoing Speaker Nancy Pelosi told those at the White House on Tuesday prior to the signing. “I was overwhelmed with emotion in bringing down the gavel on this legislation.”
“Everyone deserves to bask in the magical blessing of building a union with the person you love,” she added.
