President Biden on Tuesday praised the Senate’s passage of legislation to codify same-sex marriage rights in federal law and pledged to promptly sign the legislation once passed in the House, as is expected.
Mr. Biden lauded the bipartisan support for the measure, which cleared the Senate, 61-36 with the help of a dozen Republicans.
He said the bill reaffirms “a fundamental truth: love is love, and Americans should have the right to marry the person they love.”
“For millions of Americans, this legislation will safeguard the rights and protections to which LGBTQI+ and interracial couples and their children are entitled. It will also ensure that, for generations to follow, LGBTQI+ youth will grow up knowing that they, too, can lead full, happy lives and build families of their own,” he said.
After clearing the 60-vote threshold in the Senate, the bill now proceeds to the Democrat-led House where it is expected to pass next week.
While the Supreme Court case Obergefell v. Hodges made marrying a person of one’s own sex a federal constitutional right, Democrats feared that the conservative-leaning high court may overturn the ruling as it did Roe v. Wade, which made abortion a right nearly 50 years ago.
The bill also includes protections for interracial marriages and reaffirms that polygamous marriages are not recognized by the federal government.
— Ramsey Touchberry contributed to this report.