The Senate voted Monday night to advance a bipartisan agreement to the House-passed Respect for Marriage Act.
The vote to close debate, which ran for some two and a half hours, was 61-35, according to CSPAN Capitol Hill Producer Craig Caplan. The 61 votes meant it reached the 60-vote threshold to avoid a filibuster.
Senate Democrats are quickly moving to pass the bill while the party still controls the House. Republicans are on the verge of winning the House majority and would be unlikely to take up the issue next year.
The bill has gained steady momentum since the Supreme Court’s June decision that overturned Roe v. Wade and the federal right to an abortion. An opinion at that time from Justice Clarence Thomas suggested that an earlier high court decision protecting same-sex marriage could also come under threat.
The legislation would repeal the Clinton-era Defense of Marriage Act and require states to recognize all marriages that were legal where they were performed. The new Respect for Marriage Act would also protect interracial marriages by requiring states to recognize legal marriages regardless of “sex, race, ethnicity, or national origin.”
Newsmax wires contributed to this report.
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