By Enyichukwu Enemanna
The US House of Representatives on Thursday passed the Bill seeking to protect same-sex marriages into law, after decades long battle for nationwide acceptance.
The Bill would also protect interracial unions by requiring states to recognise legal marriages regardless of “sex, race, ethnicity, or national origin.”
In a statement after the vote in the Parliament, US President, Joe Biden called the legislation a “critical step to ensure that Americans have the right to marry the person they love.”
He said the legislation provides “hope and dignity to millions of young people across this country who can grow up knowing that their government will recognise and respect the families they build.”
He assured that he will promptly sign the measure requiring all states to recognise same-sex marriages.
It is seen as a relief for hundreds of thousands of couples who have married since the Supreme Court’s 2015 decision that legalized those marriages and have worried about what would happen if the current court overturned the ruling.
“We need it,” said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who presided over the vote as one of her last acts in leadership before stepping aside in January. “It is magic.”
The bill is “a glorious triumph of love and freedom,” Pelosi said, tearing up as she celebrated its passage.
The legislation would not require states to allow same-sex couples to marry, as Obergefell now does. But it would require states to recognise all marriages that were legal where they were performed and protect current same-sex unions.
