[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 148 (Wednesday, September 14, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4586-S4587]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                        Respect for Marriage Act

  Mr. President, on marriage equality, over the past few months, both 
sides have engaged in good-faith conversations about how to pass 
marriage equality into law. I truly hope, for the sake of tens of 
millions of Americans, that there will be at least 10 Republicans who 
will vote with us to pass this important bill soon.
  Democrats are ready to make it happen and willing to debate 
reasonable compromises on the specifics, so I urge my colleagues on the 
other side to join us. Around the country, the feeling is sinking in 
that this is a dark time for individual rights, so codifying marriage 
equality is one of the best things we can do to provide peace of mind 
to millions of Americans who are gay Americans, LGBTQ Americans who are 
married, and to their families, to their friends. It extends way beyond 
the individual couple who is married. It is an issue that hits home for 
many of us in this Chamber, including me.
  If we ever find ourselves in the awful situation of having marriage 
equality overturned by the Supreme Court, I dare say the vast majority 
of us would

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see impacts in our own personal lives or the personal lives of our 
close family and friends in one way or another.
  It would be risky and perhaps foolish to think that such a day could 
never come. Maybe a few months ago people would think that, no more. 
Justice Thomas put his cards on the table. He said that he is very open 
that the Supreme Court's decision protecting same-sex marriage should, 
in fact, be reconsidered. And often when Justice Thomas says it, his 
other four MAGA Republican Supreme Court colleague Justices are 
thinking the same thing.
  To anyone who says that the High Court would never be so reckless as 
to overturn a decision that has protected this fundamental right of 
millions of people, all I say to this is: Wake up. Look what they did 
in the Dobbs decision.
  Passing marriage equality in the Senate is all about making sure such 
a danger never--never--materializes. Millions of Americans, tens of 
millions of Americans will breathe a huge sigh of relief if we do this. 
And it is the right thing to do.
  We know that America has trod on the long path towards greater 
equality. We know that when the Constitution was written, millions of 
Americans were enslaved. In many States, you had to be a White male 
Protestant property owner to vote, that would leave the presiding 
officer and me out. They know that, and they know that most Americans 
are proud that we have made progress.
  There are some dark forces encapsulated, embodied in the MAGA 
Republicans, so many of whom are in this Chamber, who want to take 
steps backward. We are not going to let it happen. We shouldn't let it 
happen.
  So I truly hope, for the sake of tens of millions of Americans, that 
there will be at least 10 Republicans who will vote with us to pass 
this very, very important bill.
  I yield the floor.