JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV) – The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bipartisan bill that would federally recognize same-sex marriage.
The Respect for Marriage Act comes in response to fears of what might come next out of the U.S. Supreme Court after Roe v. Wade was overturned.
WJTV 12 News spoke to Mississippi College Law Professor Matt Steffey about the origins of the bill and what it could do for same-sex marriage laws across the country.
“Congress is concerned about what’s coming next with an aggressive, activist, conservative super majority wanting to turn back the calendar to a different constitutional, legal, social era,” said Steffey.
He continued, “It (the bill) should remove the cloud over same-sex marriages that were valid when and where they were made, and so, it should stabilize the law of same-sex marriage, even if the Supreme Court reverses course.”
The 2015 Supreme Court Case Obergefell v. Hodges held that same-sex marriage was constitutionally protected by the 14th amendment.
The bill moves to the U.S. Senate where it faces the challenge of Republican opposition.