[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 122 (Friday, July 22, 2022)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E773-E774]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        RESPECT FOR MARRIAGE ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                        HON. SHEILA JACKSON LEE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 19, 2022

  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to rise in strong support of 
H.R. 8404, the ``Respect for Marriage Act.''
  This Act would enshrine in federal law marriage equality for same sex 
and interracial couples.
  I would also repeal the discriminatory Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) 
of 1996 that problematically defined marriage as between one man and 
one woman.
  The Supreme Court's backwards ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's 
Health Organization that was used to justify overturning the right to 
abortion could be weaponized in the future to strip away other 
fundamental rights, including the right to marriage equality.
  In his concurring opinion in Dobbs, Justice Clarence Thomas 
explicitly called on the Supreme Court to reconsider its decisions 
protecting other fundamental rights, including the right to same-sex 
marriage recognized in Obergefell v. Hodges.
  Although Justice Thomas conveniently chose not to mention the right 
to interracial marriage--a right he currently enjoys--that right relies 
on the same constitutional doctrines as the right to same-sex marriage, 
and therefore, could also be on the chopping block.
  The Supreme Court's rulings in Loving v. Virginia, and Obergefell v. 
Hodges were founded on the promise of unenumerated rights and due 
process for all American people as guaranteed in the 9th and 14th 
Amendments of our Nation's Constitution.
  The 9th Amendment states that the Federal Government does not retain 
final authority over rights not listed in the Constitution--including 
the right to marry someone regardless of their sex or race.
  No, that very personal and intimate right, remains retained by the 
people.
  Additionally, the 14th Amendment ensures that no right afforded to 
the American people can be taken away without due process of law, while 
also guaranteeing to all Americans that they shall have equal 
protection under the law.
  Equal protection under the law.
  The same law that applies to a Black man wishing to marry a Hispanic 
woman must be applied equally to an Indigenous woman wishing to marry a 
White woman, a nonbinary individual wishing to marry a man, and so on.
  That is the constitutional promise in the United States.
  Marriage equality is not a right that can be stripped away by a 
conservative faction of the United States Supreme Court, nor by 
extremist Republican legislators.
  It is a fundamental aspect of our democracy.
  The assurances of the 14th Amendment became part of our national 
governing documents as a protection against those who would use their 
power to wipe away the freedoms of others without restraint or consent 
of the governed.
  It is unfortunate that we must rely on its strength again today.
  The night before the Dobbs ruling, LGBTQI+ couples and people in 
interracial relationships went to sleep confident in the legality of 
their marriages.
  They had no reason to believe that the next morning five individuals 
would pass a ruling

[[Page E774]]

that would strip women of their right to abortion and threaten the 
legality of their marriage unions.
  On June 24th, amidst the horror of the Court's ruling against 
abortion rights, innocent LGBTQI+, Black, and Brown people had to also 
grapple with the possibility that the legality of their marriages might 
be violently stripped away.
  We cannot and will not allow Republican lawmakers and conservative 
Justices to toy with the rights of the American people.
  That is why I strongly support the Respect for Marriage Act.
  This act would ensure that an individual be considered married as 
long as the marriage was valid in the State where it was performed.
  This ensures that same-sex and interracial couples would continue to 
enjoy equal treatment under Federal law--as the Constitution requires.
  This bill would go further by officially repealing the Defense of 
Marriage Act.
  While the Supreme Court effectively rendered DOMA inert with its 
decision in Obergefell, this unconstitutional and discriminatory law, 
however, still officially remains on the books.
  Therefore, H.R. 8404 would repeal DOMA once and for all.
  The Respect for Marriage Act would also prohibit any person acting 
under color of state law from denying full faith and credit to an out-
of-state marriage based on the sex, race, ethnicity or national origin 
of the individuals in the marriage.
  It would also authorize the U.S. Attorney General to enforce these 
protections and would create recourses of action for any individual 
harmed by a violation of this provision.
  If conservative lawmakers and Justices want to wage war against human 
and civil rights, we are ready to meet them toe for toe.
  We will meet them with the full strength of the United States Bill of 
Rights to defend the American people against discrimination and 
injustice.
  We will not back down for marriage equality.
  We will not back down for racial justice.
  We will ensure equal rights for all American people.
  I strongly put my full support behind H.R. 8404, the Respect for 
Marriage Act, and encourage my colleagues to do the same.

                          ____________________