The U.S. House of Representatives has passed a bill codifying same-sex marriage into federal law, sending the measure to President Joe Biden’s desk. The Respect for Marriage Act passed the Democrat-led House in a 258-169 vote Thursday. The vote comes a week after the U.S. Senate approved the legislation in a 61-36 vote, amended to include religious liberty protections that critics say do not go far enough to protect Christian business owners. If approved by President Joe Biden as expected, the bill would codify the 2015 U.S. Supreme Court case Obergefell v. Hodges , which established a right to same-sex marriage, into federal law. It repeals the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, which defines marriage as a union between one man and one woman at the national level. The bill requires states to recognize all marriages performed in other U.S. states as valid regardless of the sex of the participants. The Senate-approved version of the Respect for Marriage Act states that "Nothing in this Act, or any amendment made by this Act, shall be construed to diminish or abrogate a religious liberty or conscience protection otherwise available to an individual or organization under the Constitution of the United States […]
