The move is a turning point for Republican lawmakers who have spent decades opposing the legalization of same-sex marriage and broader LGBTQ rights.
Dozens of House Republicans voted with Democrats on Tuesday to codify same-sex marriage into federal law, breaking with the party’s longstanding position that marriage remains between one man and one woman.
“In 2017, I expressed my deep regret for voting against a bill legalizing same-sex marriage in New York State while in the State Assembly six years prior. Every legislator has votes they regret, and to this day, that vote was one of the most difficult I’ve had to take,” Rep. Nicole Malliotakis of New York said in aTuesday. “Over the past decade, I have attended two weddings of couples who deserve equal recognition and protection under the law.
Mary Bonauto, who argued on behalf of same-sex couples in Obergefell v. Hodges and now serves as the civil rights project director at GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders, or GLAD, said the Obergefell ruling is constitutionally correct, but called the new legislation a “very important step” to ensure marriage equality.
Support for same-sex marriage in the U.S. has grown considerably over the last three decades. When the research firm Gallup first began polling support for marriage equality in 1996, just over a quarter of Americans were in favor of legalizing the unions, compared withRepublican LGBTQ activists praised bipartisan support for the new legislation, citing broader support within the party.
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