After the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade jeopardized precedents protecting rights to same-sex relationships and contraception, the U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday passed a bill protecting gay marriage rights.
The bill, which was supported by 47 Republicans and passed the Democratic-controlled chamber by a vote of 267-157, creates federal safeguards for homosexual marriage and makes it illegal for anybody to question the legality of a marriage based on the race or sex of the couple.
It will now be put to a vote in the evenly divided Senate, where the chances of passing are unclear. Party leadership, which did not whip against the bill, instructed House Republicans to cast their ballots according to their consciences.
Following the Supreme Court’s 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, which established the federal right to an abortion, Jerrold Nadler, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, introduced the bill.
Justice Clarence Thomas stated in a concurring opinion that the court should reevaluate earlier decisions that protected access to contraception and the 2015 legalization of homosexual marriage because they were based on the same logical justifications as Roe.
