President Biden had already issued an "executive order" on his first day on the job to achieve a ban on discrimination against LGBTQ in federal agencies.
DLNews Politics:
Washington - Same-sex marriage, previously guaranteed by a Supreme Court ruling, is now to be enshrined in law in the United States.
A corresponding legal text received a clear majority of 62 to 37 votes in a preliminary vote in the Senate in Washington on Wednesday. This exceeded the majority of at least 60 votes required for the procedural vote.
In addition to the 50 Democratic senators, twelve Republicans also voted for the text.
This clears the way for the final vote.
"Americans should have the right to marry the person they love," said US President Joe Biden (79) on the Senate breakthrough.
Background: In 2015, the Supreme Court established the right of homosexual couples to marry in a historic ruling. However, after the Court of Justice, which had increasingly moved to the right in recent years, abolished the country's basic right to abortion, which had been in force for almost 50 years, in June, fears grew that marriage for gays and lesbians could also be in danger.
Clarence Thomass has been a United States Supreme Court Justice since 1991.
It was the arch-conservative constitutional judge Clarence Thomas (74) who, in a comment on the abolition of the fundamental right to abortions, also questioned the fundamental judgment on "marriage for all."
"Broad majority for marriage equality."
The House of Representatives, therefore, voted in July for a law called the "Respect for Marriage Act."
It stipulates that all states must recognize marriages concluded in another state and are valid there. Already classified as unconstitutional and thus deleted: a law that defines marriage only as a union between a man and a woman.
The conservative Republicans could have blocked the bill in the Senate with their blocking minority. However, an agreement was finally reached after weeks of negotiations between Democrats and Republicans.
Also voted for: Republican ex-presidential candidate Mitt Romney (75) …
After a final vote in the Senate, the text has to go back to the House of Representatives before President Joe Biden can sign it.
A broad majority of the US population supports same-sex marriage. However, the religious right is – unsurprisingly – strongly opposed!
Biden's party secured a majority in the Senate in the midterm election. This is particularly important because important personal details at the federal level – such as ambassadors, cabinet members, or federal judges – are confirmed there. Biden is, therefore, confident of the opportunity to push through further nominations in the second half of his term.
The Republicans will probably take control of the House of Representatives in early January with the start of the new parliamentary year. In contrast, the Democrats were able to defend their Senate majority in the midterms.
… and Rob Portman (66) changed his mind about gay marriage after his son came out in 2013.
However, the loss of control over the House of Representatives will likely make things uncomfortable for the President over the next two years. With their new power, the Republicans will be able to block future legislation because both chambers of Congress are involved in the legislative process.
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