The US Senate approved a bill that enshrines the right to same-sex and interracial marriage, reports CNN. This is done so that the Supreme Court cannot overturn this right, as happened in July 2022 with the constitutional right to abortion.
Same-sex marriage was legalized in the country in 2015 – then the Supreme Court considered the case "Obergefell v. Hodges", during which it ruled that marriage equality is a fundamental right of a US citizen. Later, former President Donald Trump (before leaving office) managed to appoint conservative judges to the Supreme Court. Subsequently, already in 2022, the court overturned the decision in the Roe v. Wade case, which secured the right to abortion in the United States. The country then began to fear a similar situation with same-sex marriages.
The document, approved by the Senate, enshrines the right to conclude such marriages at the federal level. It also replaces the "Marriage Protection Act", which describes marriage as "a union between one man and one woman".
All Democrats and 12 Republicans voted for the bill. There were 36 senators against. Further, the document is approved by the House of Representatives and submitted for signature to President Joe Biden.
Biden has already supported the bill. “Love is love, and Americans should have the right to marry the person they love. The law ensures that future generations of LGBTQ youth will grow up knowing they can live full, happy lives and start families of their own,” he said in a statement.