The House is set to pass legislation on Tuesday that will give federal protections for same-sex marriages as part of a strategy by the Democratic Party to demonstrate its commitment to other rights that could be at risk after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade’s federal right to an abortion, The Washington Post reported.
The legislation includes a provision that would require states to recognize valid marriages carried out in other states.
This means states will not be able to declare same-sex marriages invalid even if they are outlawed in that state, as long as the marriage took place legally in the state where it was performed, Forbes noted.
The legislation is expected to garner some Republican votes in the House, but its fate is unclear in the Senate.
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said over the weekend that the Supreme Court should overturn its Obergefell v. Hodges precedent legalizing same-sex marriage, arguing it was "clearly wrong when it was decided," CNN reported.
"Obergefell, like Roe v. Wade, ignored two centuries of our nation's history,” Cruz said in a clip posted on his YouTube channel for his podcast. "Marriage was always an issue that was left to the states."
Marriage equality has come under threat due to the Supreme Court's overturning of Roe, because the court explained the right to an abortion is not expressly stated in the Constitution or "deeply rooted in this nation's history and tradition," according to Forbes.
The court's decision in Obergefell is one of a several major rulings that is based on similar legal grounds as Roe, boosting concerns among backers of the right that the court will overturn marriage equality next under similar reasoning.
On Wednesday, the House plans to vote on a bill to protect access to contraception, The Washington Post reported.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a note to House Democrats on Monday that "the House will pass two more bills to protect freedom in our nation, as extremist justices and lawmakers take aim at more of our basic rights," The Hill reported.
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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