CONGRESS PASSES RESPECT FOR MARRIAGE ACT, SENDS TO PRESIDENT BIDEN FOR SIGNATURE

GLAAD: “It’s now time for Congress to pass the Equality Act”

(New York, NY – December 8, 2022) — GLAAD, the world’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) media advocacy organization, is responding to the passage of the Respect for Marriage Act in the U.S. House of Representatives, the final vote to pass both chambers of Congress. The bill moves to President Biden, who has said he will sign it into law.

The bill passed 258 to 169, with 39 Republicans voting in favor.

Sarah Kate Ellis, President and CEO of GLAAD, issued the following statement, on Twitter and here:

“Passage of the Respect for Marriage Act today is a victory for LGBTQ couples and couples of different races, and a bipartisan recognition that our families are accepted, supported and worthy of the same protections as any other. This legislation will safeguard much-needed protections for millions of couples who are baselessly vulnerable in today’s hostile political climate at the state level and in the courts. Congress must use this momentum to keep expanding LGBTQ protections and freedoms including in pending legislation like the Equality Act, and especially for transgender people who face elevated levels of discrimination and attacks. It’s long past time for politicians to catch up to the supermajority of Americans of every party who support shared values of equal treatment, and our right to be free from discrimination and to have the same chances to belong, contribute and succeed in our communities and in our country.”

GLAAD launched a new national digital and broadcast advertising campaign last month featuring a family that would be impacted by passage of the Respect for Marriage Act. GLAAD previously joined 400 other organizations in a sign-on letter in support of passage of the Respect for Marriage Act in the U.S. Senate. 

The Respect for Marriage Act will repeal the discriminatory Defense of Marriage Act and ensure that legally married same-sex and interracial couples are entitled to the same protections and recognition from the federal government as all other married couples; and that those marriages will be respected in other states regardless of where a married couple lives or travels. Married couples are guaranteed more than 1,100 protections on the federal level that help keep families together, from spousal benefits to hospital visitation rights to acknowledgment on death certificates and more. The bill was introduced in July by Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), and Susan Collins (R-ME).

A bipartisan supermajority  – 71% – of Americans support the freedom to marry, according to a June 2022 poll. In addition, increased numbers of Americans are coming out as LGBTQ—1 in 5 members of Gen Z now identify as LGBTQ. 

The Equality Act passed the House in February 2021 and would be the first piece of federal legislation to explicitly and comprehensively protect LGBTQ people from discrimination on the basis of gender, gender identity, and sexual orientation, and will expand existing protections for people of color, women, people of faith, and other groups. It is awaiting action in the Senate.