WASHINGTON -- President Joe Biden signed the Respect for Marriage Act into law Tuesday afternoon, granting federal protections to same-sex and interracial couples and marking a milestone in the decadeslong fight for marriage equality.
A celebratory crowd of thousands bundled up to watch Biden sign the legislation, a joyful ceremony that was tempered by the backdrop of an ongoing conservative backlash over gender issues.
"This law and the love it defends strike a blow against hate in all its forms," Biden said on the South Lawn of the White House. "And that's why this law matters to every single American."
Singers Sam Smith and Cyndi Lauper performed, and Vice President Kamala Harris recalled officiating at a lesbian wedding in San Francisco.
The White House even played a recording of Biden's television interview from a decade ago, when he caused a political furor by unexpectedly disclosing his support for gay marriage. Biden was vice president at the time and President Barack Obama had not yet endorsed the idea.
"I got in trouble," Biden joked of that moment. Three days later, Obama publicly endorsed gay marriage.
Lawmakers from both parties attended Tuesday's ceremony, reflecting the growing acceptance of same-sex unions, once among the country's most contentious issues.
Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., wore the same purple tie to the ceremony that he wore to his daughter Alison's wedding. She and her wife are expecting their first child in the spring.
"Thanks to the millions out there who spent years pushing for change and thanks to the dogged work of my colleagues, my grandchild will get to live in a world that respects and honors their mothers' marriage," he said.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., told the crowd that "inside maneuvering only takes us so far," and she thanked activists adding impetus with "your impatience, your persistence and your patriotism."
Despite Tuesday's excitement, there was concern about the nationwide proliferation of conservative policies on gender issues at the state level.
Biden criticized the "callous, cynical laws introduced in the states targeting transgender children, terrifying families and criminalizing doctors who give children the care they need."
"Racism, antisemitism, homophobia, transphobia, they're all connected," Biden said. "But the antidote to hate is love."
Among the attendees were the owner of Club Q, a gay nightclub in Colorado where five people were killed in a shooting last month, and two survivors of the attack. The suspect has been charged with hate crimes.
"It's not lost on me that our struggle for freedom hasn't been achieved," said Kelley Robinson, president of the Human Rights Campaign. "But this is a huge step forward, and we have to celebrate the victories we achieve and use that to fuel the future of the fight."
Robinson attended the ceremony with her wife and 1-year-old child.
"Our kids are watching this moment," she said. "It's very special to have them here and show them that we're on the right side of history."
BIPARTISAN EFFORT
The new law is intended to safeguard gay marriages if the U.S. Supreme Court ever reverses Obergefell v. Hodges, its 2015 decision legalizing same-sex unions nationwide. The new law also protects interracial marriages.
In 1967, the Supreme Court in Loving v. Virginia struck down laws in 16 states barring interracial marriage.
The signing marks the culmination of a monthslong bipartisan effort sparked by the Supreme Court's decision in June to overturn Roe v. Wade, which made abortion available across the country.
In a concurring opinion in the case that overturned the 1973 ruling, Justice Clarence Thomas suggested revisiting other decisions, including the legalization of gay marriage, generating fear that more rights could be imperiled by the court's conservative majority. Thomas did not reference interracial marriage with the other cases he said should be reconsidered.
"When that case [Dobbs] came down, it sent shudders through the LGBTQ community for sure because it really put at risk the certainty that their marriages that are recognized today would be recognized in the future should the Supreme Court revisit Obergefell," Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., the first openly gay person elected to the Senate, said Monday in a Washington Post Live interview.
Lawmakers crafted a compromise that was intended to assuage conservative concerns about religious liberty, such as ensuring that churches could still refuse to perform gay marriages.
The Respect for Marriage Act will not force states to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples but will require that people be considered married in any state as long as the marriage was valid in the state where it was performed.
Currently, 35 states have statutes or constitutional amendments banning same-sex marriage that would take effect if Obergefell were overturned, according to the Movement Advancement Project, a nonprofit that advocates for LGBTQ equality.
A majority of Republicans in Congress still voted against the legislation. However, it passed the Senate last month and the House last week with strong bipartisan support: 12 Republican senators and 39 GOP House members joined all Democrats and independents in both chambers to pass the bill.
Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, who was part of the bipartisan group of senators who negotiated on the bill, praised her colleagues last week for their relentless work to get the bill passed, recalling how on Thanksgiving she was basting a turkey and texting lawmakers about the bill at the same time.
She said she was heartened that the House had passed an earlier version of the Respect for Marriage Act over the summer with a strong bipartisan vote, but knew it could still be an uphill battle to get the bill passed in the Senate.
"In talking with my Republican colleagues, and with Tammy, I felt that if we could come up with some language that would make it clear that we were not in any way weakening religious liberties ... that we could in fact get the bill over the finish line," Collins said.
30-YEAR FIGHT
The signing underscores a nearly three-decade evolution -- from 1996 when Democratic President Bill Clinton signed the Defense of Marriage Act to the 2004 election when Republican President George W. Bush used the issue to energize GOP voters, to the Supreme Court's 2015 decision legalizing same-sex marriage nationwide.
The bill signed into law Tuesday also will repeal the Defense of Marriage Act.
In addition to defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman, the 1996 legislation allowed states to decline to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states. That law has remained on the books despite being declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court's 2013 ruling in United States v. Windsor and its 2015 ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges, which guaranteed same-sex couples the fundamental right to marry.
Tuesday's ceremony marks another chapter in Biden's legacy on gay rights, which includes his surprise endorsement of marriage equality in 2012.
"What this is all about is a simple proposition: Who do you love?" Biden said then on NBC's "Meet the Press." "Who do you love and will you be loyal to the person you love? And that is what people are finding out is what all marriages at their root are about."
A Gallup poll showed that only 27% of U.S. adults supported same-sex unions in 1996, when Clinton signed the Defense of Marriage Act, which said the federal government would only recognize heterosexual marriages. Biden voted for the legislation.
By the time of Biden's 2012 interview, gay marriage remained controversial, but support had expanded to roughly half of U.S. adults, according to Gallup. Earlier this year, 71% said same-sex unions should be recognized by law.
Biden has pushed to expand LGBTQ rights since taking office.
He reversed President Donald Trump's efforts to strip transgender people of anti-discrimination protections. His administration includes the first openly gay Cabinet member, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, and the first transgender person to receive Senate confirmation, Assistant Secretary for Health Rachel Levine.
"The Respect for Marriage Act ... will give peace of mind to millions of LGBTQ+ and interracial couples who will finally be guaranteed the rights and protections to which they and their children are entitled," White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Monday. "The legislation also enjoys support from a majority of Americans across party lines and faith."
Information for this article was contributed by Chris Megerian and Seung Min Kim of The Associated Press and by Amy B Wang and Scott Clement of The Washington Post.
President Joe Biden speaks during a bill signing ceremony for the Respect for Marriage Act, Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2022, on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
President Joe Biden speaks during a bill signing ceremony for the Respect for Marriage Act, Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2022, on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of N.Y., speaks before President Joe Biden during a bill signing ceremony for the Respect for Marriage Act, Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2022, on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
Singer Cyndi Lauper greets House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of Calif., and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of N.Y., before President Joe Biden signs the Respect for Marriage Act, Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2022, on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
Gina, left, and Heidi Nortonsmith speak before President Joe Biden signs the Respect for Marriage Act, Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2022, on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
Aparna Shrivastava, right, takes a photo with her partner Shelby Teeter after President Joe Biden signed the Respect for Marriage Act, Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2022, on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of Calif., speaks before President Joe Biden during a bill signing ceremony for the Respect for Marriage Act, Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2022, on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
Singer Cyndi Lauper arrives to perform before President Joe Biden speaks during a bill signing ceremony for the Respect for Marriage Act, Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2022, on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)Gallery: Biden gay marriage bill
