The Lower House of the United States approved this Tuesday to protect homosexual marriage by law, after the elimination of the right to abortion by the Supreme Court has set off alarms over the possibility that more judicial precedents will be eliminated in the country.
The House of Representatives, with a Democratic majority, gave its endorsement with 267 votes in favor and 157 against.
That bill will now go to the Senate, where the tight Democratic majority will need the support of at least 10 Republicans to push it through.
They approve the protection of same-sex marriage
Regardless of the future result in the Upper House, progressives can take advantage of a vote that forces Republican senators to take their pictures in the November legislative elections, whose campaign already dominates the abortion issue.
“If the Supreme Court does not overturn ‘Obergefell’ (the ruling that protects same-sex marriage), this law will be unnecessary, but harmless. If the decision is reversed, it will mean something crucial,” Democratic Rep. Jerry Nadler said, referring to the possibility of the Supreme Court reviewing other legal precedents. This after the elimination of the protection of the right to abortion.
Nadler was thus responding to Republican Jim Jones, who criticized the Democrats’ proposal as “unnecessary.” Since in his opinion the Supreme Court ruling on abortion “makes it clear that it cannot be misinterpreted” to apply to other guarantees.
Review legal precedent
However, Supreme Court Conservative Justice Clarence Thomas suggested in a concurring opinion to that ruling that various legal precedents based on the “fundamental due process” doctrine should be reviewed. This includes rulings that protect same-sex marriage or access to contraceptives.
Several gay Democratic representatives recalled on Tuesday the day the US Supreme Court protected gay marriage with the 2015 “Obergefell v. Hodges” ruling.
“On that day, the Supreme Court decided that we had the right to same-sex marriage. Many of us sing the anthem national in front of the court. Because when your country catches up with you, it’s a precious thing,” said Sean Patrick Maloney of New York.
“Roe vs. Wade”
Another New York congressman, Mondaire Jones, reminded his fellow conservatives that “since ‘Obergefell’ nearly 300,000 gay couples have been married.” “Imagine telling the next generation of Americans, my generation, that we no longer have the right to marry whoever we want,” he lamented.
The Supreme Court, with a conservative majority, revoked the ruling “Roe v. Wade” on June 24. That for half a decade protected access to abortion in the country.
Since then, a large number of progressive activists and politicians have warned of the possibility of the court doing the same with other rights. And they have asked for the vote for their representatives in the legislative elections to ensure that this does not happen.
