Joe Biden Sign Same-Sex Marriage Rights Bill
According to The New York Times, Joe Biden, the president of the United States, on Tuesday sign the “Respect for Marriage Act” into law.
The Act requires the federal government to recognize same-sex unions because its backers felt that Congress needed to take proactive steps to ensure that same-sex unions across the nation would not be declared invalid by a future Supreme Court.
President Biden would be completing his own personal progress toward accepting gay rights over the course of a four-decade political career by signing the bill into law.
The Defense of Marriage Act, which established marriage as being between a man and a woman 25 years ago, is officially repealed by the long-debated legislation that was passed by a bipartisan coalition in Congress. The legislation also forbids states from invalidating out-of-state marriages on the basis of sex, race, or ethnicity.
The White House has invited hundreds of people to what has been dubbed a grandiose signing event on the South Lawn, according to The New York Times. As the president celebrates the passing of what officials are calling a “historic piece of legislation,” the event will also feature musical performances.
After supporting the Defense of Marriage Act as a senator in 1996, President Biden later wavered by allowing gay men and lesbians to serve in the military. The signing ceremony will be a reflection of how much President Biden has changed when it comes to defending L.G.B.T.Q. equality.
As he asserted earlier this year, “Republicans and Democrats can work together to secure the basic right of Americans to marry the person they love,” Biden was quoted as being unambiguous in his support for the proposed law.
Recall that while Biden served as vice president, he carefully planned out arrangements for Obama’s reelection announcement and made public his support for same-sex marriage before his boss.
Additionally, Mr. Biden stated that “I am perfectly comfortable with the fact that men marrying men, women marrying women, and heterosexual men and women marrying one another are entitled to the same exact rights, all the civil rights,” in an appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press” in 2012.
The legislation’s opponents countered that it would weaken American family values and impose restrictions on the freedom of religion of those who do not believe that same-sex marriage is moral.
