It doesn’t go as far as Obergefell, but it still offers important protections.
Congress could soon pass historic protections for same-sex marriage, offering a critical safeguard if the Supreme Court were to overturn its 2015 decision that established the right.
The Senate has already passed this legislation, known as the Respect for Marriage Act, and it now heads to the House, which is likely to approve it next week.
The bill doesn’t go as far as Supreme Court precedent does, though it provides an important contingency in case that ruling, Obergefell v. Hodges, is ever struck down. Notably, the legislation requires states and the federal government to continue to recognize same-sex marriages regardless of what the Supreme Court chooses to do.
That guarantee, ultimately, means Americans in same-sex marriages are shielded from states invalidating their unions and the federal government discriminating against them if past precedent were to fall.
With the act’s passage nearing, here are the answers to four key questions about what the legislation does — and doesn’t — do.
WHAT WILL BE THE STATUS OF SAME-SEX MARRIAGES AFTER THE RESPECT FOR MARRIAGE ACT HAS PASSED?
Currently, the right to same-sex marriage is firmly established across all 50 states by the Obergefell decision issued by the Supreme Court in 2015.
However, following the Court’s overturn of Roe v. Wade in their June Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision, some lawmakers worried same-sex marriage protections could be revoked next. A concurring opinion from Justice Clarence Thomas in the Dobbs case only raised concerns that the Court could revisit this case, prompting Congress to quickly advance the Respect for Marriage Act.
The act reaffirms some of Obergefell’s protections by mandating that states and the federal government always recognize same-sex marriages as legally valid.
Prior to that Supreme Court decision, a provision in the Defense of Marriage Act allowed individual states to decide if they would recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states. This bill explicitly targets that loophole. If a couple was married in a blue state that protected same-sex marriage, but moved to a red state that barred it, the red state would still have to recognize their marriage as legally valid.
What the bill does NOT do, however, is require states to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, something that Obergefell guarantees. Because of that, states, more than 30 of which still have same-sex marriage bans on the books, would be able to refuse to issue same-sex marriage licenses, forcing couples to travel elsewhere to obtain them.
“It’s an important first step,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) told Vox, of the bill. “We could go one step further and ensure that every state provides an opportunity for equal marriage, but that will have to wait for another day.”
The legislation also officially repeals the Defense of Marriage Act, which defined marriage as a legal union between a man and a woman and prevented the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriages.
While DOMA’s provisions were struck down in the 2013 Windsor v. United States decision and the 2015 Obergefell decision, this bill makes it clear that they can’t be reinstated. In doing so, it codifies federal recognition of same-sex marriages, which is vital for access to more than 1,100 government benefits related to social programs, taxes, and immigration services.
COULD OBERGEFELL ACTUALLY BE OVERTURNED? WHAT WOULD HAPPEN THEN?
Since Obergefell is a precedent established by the Supreme Court, the Justices could decide to overturn it. This bill does not prevent them from being able to do so, but it offers protections for people in case that were to happen.
Civil rights activists have been worried about this possibility given Thomas’s opinion. Other Justices, including Samuel Alito and Brett Kavanaugh, however, have stated that the Dobbs decision is not an indication that the Court intends to consider other precedents that rest on similar reasoning, as Obergefell does.
COULD THIS BILL GET CHALLENGED IN COURT?
Although many legal experts note that the arguments for challenging the Respect for Marriage Act aren’t necessarily the strongest, it could still face legal action.
According to Katherine Franke, a law professor at Columbia University, states that want to bar same-sex marriage and do not want to recognize marriages that took place in other states could try to claim that Congress does not have the authority to require them to. It would be a longshot for a case like that to be successful, however, she says.
“It would be a radical step for a court to find the Respect for Marriage Act unconstitutional as an illegal exercise of congressional power,” Franke told Vox. “It’s just that with the radicals on the Supreme Court and in lower federal courts, it can’t be ruled out.” For those interested in undermining the bill, these challenges could be levied even if Obergefell remains intact, says Franke.
DOES ALL OF THIS APPLY TO INTERRACIAL MARRIAGE AS WELL?
The legislation states that the same protections it provides for same-sex marriage apply to interracial marriage as well.
The right to interracial marriage was established by the Loving v. Virginia case in 1967, which overrode state-level bans on interracial marriage, and is another precedent that some civil rights advocates worry could be threatened by the Supreme Court following the Dobbs decision.
Were this precedent rolled back, the Respect for Marriage Act would require states and the federal government to recognize interracial marriages, and give those in such unions the same rights and benefits as those in same-sex marriages. As with same-sex marriages, the law would not require states to issue licenses for interracial marriages if they decide to restrict it.
Japanese trans mom gets sick, recovers | Queer interracial family
@dhirondelleetdepainfrais said:
I have a story set in the south of France, around real-life time. The main character's (16, trans) sidekick is mixed Japanese and Spanish. She has a little brother, a Japanese transgender mother (who hasn't transitioned, and doesn't want to), and a Spanish cisgender mother. They form a healthy and happy lesbian couple.
However, at one point in the story, the Japanese mother falls ill, and has to go to the hospital for multiple weeks. Fortunately, she comes back later alive and healthy (so I think she doesn't fall into the "bury your gays/kill your poc tropes). The rest of the story, the family doesn't live another major angsty event, and lives happily.
The goal of this arc is to allow the sidekick a character growth. It changes her view on death, as well as her relationship with her little brother for the better.
My question is: Is there anything to look out for in this part of the story, like a problematic trope for example ?
P.S.: I based this character's ethnicity on a friend of mine who has an East Asian mother and a white father.
Context for why this works
I think this is an unexpectedly realistic scenario given the current state of LGBTQIA+ rights work in Japan. Obviously, the couple would not be able to have marital rights in Japan as a lesbian couple (Gay marriage is still illegal in Japan). Furthermore, the requirements for adults in Japan who wish to change their gender marker include a diagnosis for gender dysphoria and surgeries that result in sterilization. On paper, this couple could legally be recognized by the government as a cisgender family in Japan because without the Japanese wife transitioning surgically, she would be identified by the government as her gender at birth. Thus, it makes sense that the couple would choose to reside in the country that neither requires surgery to change gender markers nor prohibits gay marriage.
What I am curious about is what happens if the family ever goes back to Japan, where the Japanese mother would be identified by their deadname and their gender at birth (Ex. Immigration, Government registries). I am similarly curious as to what this means for the side character. Under new laws that come into effect in 2022, young adults who are diagnosed with gender dysphoria as children are permitted to change their gender markers without the surgical requirements, and if your character is 16, they qualify to retain their Japanese citizenship.
I would also like to see how this side character interacts with their Japanese heritage. Despite the obstacles that being trans poses for Japanese people, I hope that you can have them engage with their Japanese heritage in positive ways. Europe (Including France) is notorious for racism and xenophobia towards non-European individuals, religious minorities and people of color. Having a positive relationship with one’s heritage is something essential for many mixed race people in real life, but this is rarely depicted in fiction as often as it should.
- Marika.
Happy interracial family, happy interracial queer family: me likey :)
One thing that may be worth looking into for the sick mom arc is to research and ask trans folks what their experiences are with medical professionals and being in the hospital, because (at least in my irl circle of trans friends) that’s a very common struggle and anxiety. Not saying to make it traumatic (definitely no!) but it might help you write the mom’s experience with as many realistic emotions and details as possible. Another thing you can ask around for is experiences by trans people who are asian in multiracial families or multiracial trans people, to see if there are unique intersections that will help flesh out the family’s dynamic and their day-to-day!
"I hope and pray that my colleagues will find the courage to join me in opposing this misguided and this dangerous bill," Hartzler said thro
GOP Rep. Vicky Hartzler of Missouri broke down crying on the House floor on Thursday as she begged her colleagues to vote against the bipartisan bill aimed at protecting same-sex marriage, the Respect for Marriage Act.
"I hope and pray that my colleagues will find the courage to join me in opposing this misguided and this dangerous bill," Hartzler said through tears.
Hartzler spent the first two minutes of her speech bashing the bill, claiming its "only purpose is to hand the federal government a legal bludgeoning tool to drive people of faith out of the public square and silence anyone who dissents."
The Respect for Marriage Act requires states to recognize any marriage made in another state and repeals the federal "Defense of Marriage Act" which previously defined marriage as between a man and a woman.
Hartzler further called the bill "unnecessary," and said that "Obergefell is not in danger," a reference to the Supreme Court's ruling in the Obergefell v. Hodges case in 2015 requires all states to recognize same-sex marriages and issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
In Justice Clarence Thomas' opinion in the Supreme Court's Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization from 2022, he called for the high court to reconsider several Supreme Court rulings that were made using the due process clause, which includes the Obergefell ruling.
Following his opinion and the Supreme Court's reversal of the nation's abortion protections granted in the famous Roe v. Wade case, Democrats labored to enshrine same-sex marriage protections in law.
This is not Hartzler's first time fighting against the expansion of marriage protections — as the Kansas City Star first noted, prior to her time in Congress, Hartzler vehemently pushed for an amendment to be added to Missouri's constitution that would define marriage as between a man and a woman.
Hartzler, who's been in Congress since 2011, will not be returning in 2023 after losing her campaign for an open Senate seat.
Rep. Hartzler's office did not respond to Insider's request for comment.
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