EDITORS/NEWS DIRECTORS:
The U.S. House of Representatives is expected to vote soon to ensure that same-sex and interracial marriages are recognized as legal unions, even if the U.S. Supreme Court reverses a 2015 ruling that legalized gay marriage nationwide.
The Senate approved the Respect for Marriage Act last week. The House approved an earlier version of the bill in July, but still must vote on the legislation that passed the Senate. President Joe Biden has said he will sign it.
The measure has support from both Democrats and some Republicans, reflecting a wider acceptance of same-sex unions across the country. It would protect the rights of over a half million married same-sex couples.
AP’s latest coverage:
— EXPLAINER: Congress is acting on gay, interracial marriage
— Landmark same-sex marriage bill wins Senate passage
— Same-sex couples wary despite federal marriage rights bill
Tips for localizing the story:
QUESTIONS/REPORTING THREADS
— Find out how your senators and representatives have voted on the Respect for Marriage Act, and ask them to explain their vote. The roll call from the House vote from July is here, and the Senate vote is here. Note that lawmakers in the House could vote differently when the chamber votes again, which it must do before the measure is approved and sent to Biden.
— Talk with married same-sex couples in your community about their experiences and what they think about the Respect for Marriage Act. Where and when were they married? Did they have to travel to a different state? Are they concerned the Supreme Court could someday overturn the landmark Obergefell v. Hodges decision, which legalized gay marriage nationwide?
— Ask lawmakers in your state what would happen regarding same-sex marriage if Obergefell were to be overturned. What was the law in your state prior to Obergefell? If there was a ban on same-sex marriage, would it immediately take effect if the Supreme Court overturns Obergefell?
— Talk with lawmakers and advocacy groups about whether they're concerned and considering action to change state laws around same-sex marriage in the event the Supreme Court acts one day. Are advocacy groups — those who support same-sex marriage, or those who oppose it — discussing the issue or pushing for state lawmakers to take action?
RESOURCES
— Most large metro areas have an LGBTQ community center of some sort that could help journalists find couples to speak with.
— ACLU chapters in each state can advise on legal measures.
— PFLAG advocates for LGBTQ families, and has many chapters across the country: https://pflag.org/
— GLSEN advocates for LGBTQ students, and also has many local/state chapters: https://www.glsen.org/
— The Heritage Foundation is a conservative organization that opposed the Respect for Marriage Act: https://www.heritage.org/
— Alliance Defending Freedom is a legal organization that opposes the legislation: https://adflegal.org/
— The Pew Research Center has survey data showing public opinion regarding same-sex marriage.
— Lambda Legal advocates for civil rights for LGBTQ people: https://www.lambdalegal.org/
— A Gallup poll from June showed increased suppor t for same-sex marriage.
— The American Community Survey, part of the Census Bureau, recently released data on same-sex households. Tables include state-by-state breakdowns showing estimates of same-sex households and the percentage in which couples are married.
PUBLISHABLE CONTEXT
In 1996, Congress approved and then-President Bill Clinton, a Democrat, signed the Defense of Marriage Act. It defined marriage as between one man and one woman. Under DOMA, the federal government did not recognize same-sex marriages for purposes such as filing taxes or receiving Social Security survivor benefits. It also said states didn’t have to recognize same-sex unions conducted in other states.
In the years that followed, some states issued marriage licenses to same-sex couples, but those marriages were not recognized everywhere. Other states passed laws or approved amendments to their constitutions banning the marriages.
The U.S. Supreme Court found parts of DOMA unconstitutional in separate rulings in 2013 and 2015. The 2013 decision said the federal government must recognize same-sex marriages. Two years later, in the Obergefell v. Hodges ruling, the court found bans on same-sex marriage unconstitutional, legalizing gay marriage nationwide.
It was the June decision to overturn Roe v. Wade that gave the Respect for Marriage Act momentum in Congress. A new conservative majority on the Supreme Court invalidated the landmark 1973 ruling granting the right to an abortion, immediately causing bans to take effect in some states.
Justice Samuel Alito, writing for the majority, said: "(N)othing in this opinion should be understood to cast doubt on precedents that do not concern abortion.” In a concurring opinion, Justice Clarence Thomas, a fellow conservative, wrote that he agreed the court’s opinion shouldn’t “cast doubt on precedents that do not concern abortion.’”
“For that reason, in future cases, we should reconsider all of this Court’s substantive due process precedents,” Thomas wrote. That included Obergefell, he added.
Thomas’ words alarmed supporters of gay marriage, who feared the right to same-sex marriage could one day be undone, just as the court overturned longstanding abortion rights.
There is currently no case on the horizon that asks the Supreme Court to undo rulings that protect same-sex marriages. But Democrats opted to act while they had control of Congress and the White House.
The Respect for Marriage Act passed the House weeks later with support from 47 Republicans — a tally that caught many by surprise. Democratic sponsors of the bill opted to wait until after the midterm election to hold a vote in the Senate, where 12 Republicans voted yes last week.
The Respect for Marriage Act says federal and state governments must recognize legally performed marriages regardless of the individuals’ sex, race, ethnicity or national origin, and it would allow people to sue to enforce those rights. It does not require states to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
The measure would also maintain current religious freedom or conscience protections, stating that nonprofit religious organizations or nonprofits that are religious in nature do not need to provide goods or services for the celebration of the marriages.
Most Republicans still oppose the legislation, and conservative groups have spoken out against it, saying it jeopardizes religious freedom of Americans who do not support same-sex marriage. But the fact the legislation has passed both chambers with support from Republicans and Democrats is a sign of how public opinion has shifted over the years. While a majority of Americans once opposed same-sex marriages, in a June Gallup poll, 71% of U.S. adults said same-sex unions should be valid under the law.
