United States Senate Passes Same-Sex Marriage Protection Bill

Illustration of Capitol Hill, United States. (Wikimedia Commons/Architect of the Capitol)

JAKARTA - The United States Senate passed a bill that would protect federal recognition of same-sex marriage on Tuesday.

Officially named the Respect for Marriage Act, the bill has the backing of 61 members of the US Senate 36, with 12 Republicans joining 49 Democratic Party politicians in lending support.

The narrowly drafted bill, which requires the federal government to recognize marriages if they are legal in the state where they are performed, is meant to act as a buffer if the Supreme Court acts against same-sex marriage.

That would bar states from blocking same-sex or interracial marriages if the Supreme Court allows them to do so.

"Today the long but inexorable march toward greater equality is moving forward", Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement, launching Reuters on November 30.

"By passing this bill, the Senate is sending a message that every American needs to hear: it doesn't matter who you are or who you love, you deserve dignity and equal treatment under the law", the Democrat said.

A similar, but not identical, bill passed in the House of Representatives earlier this year with the support of 47 Republicans and all Democrats.

The US House of Representatives needs to approve the Senate's version before it is sent to President Joe Biden for signature into law.

Schumer's US House colleague Steny Hoyer told reporters on Tuesday his party would likely discuss a Senate version of the bill next week.

In June, the United States Supreme Court overturned the national right to have an abortion, overturning 50 years of precedent.

In a similar opinion, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas wrote the court should consider overturning other decisions that protect individual liberties, including a 2015 ruling on gay marriage.

It is known that about 568,000 same-sex married couples live in the United States, according to the US Census Bureau.