TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — The Senate passed a bill that would protect existing same-sex or interracial marriages in every state.
The Respect for Marriage Act advances to the House with a vote of 61 to 36 on Tuesday.
RELATED: Landmark same-sex marriage bill wins Senate passage
The bill wouldn’t require all states to issue marriage licenses to same-sex or interracial couples, but it would require every state to recognize these marriages.
RELATED: Senate advances marriage rights bill that would protect same-sex and interracial marriages
“A lot of people were nervous earlier this summer, when one Supreme Court Justice kind of hinted that the decisions made by prior supreme courts could be overturned or questioned,” said Senator Kyrsten Sinema.
Two of those people with concerns were Blake and Matt Coelho. They got married in 2019 and questioned if there was no law of the land for same-sex or interracial couples, what would happen to their marriage if a supreme court case was to be overturned.
“There's the legal side of it all, and like, you know, all of that, that comes into play with denying people's legal marriages, but then there's also the emotional part of it,” said Blake Coelho.
The bill passed with bipartisan support and is expected to be passed by the House next week. If it passes, it’ll be handed off to President Biden to sign into law.
“By repealing the Defense of Marriage Act, we’re simply stating that marriages are the same. That everyone has the same kind of marriage and that no matter what state you move to after you’re married, you should be able to have access to a fair legal system in that state,” said Sen. Sinema.
The Coelhos said the bill passing through the senate gives them a sigh of relief, but there’s still work to be done to protect marriage rights and the LGBTQ+ community.
“It’s not enough to not make it the law of the land. Because this limbo is just another bridge for a really bad event to happen or something worse,” said Matt Coelho.
Although the bill protects all existing same-sex and interracial, it wouldn’t require every state to marry these couples.
“Ultimately enough would be saying that gay marriage, interracial marriage, they are the law of the land, and they always will be. And that is not necessarily what this bill is saying. But it's a start. And it does provide a lot of protections,” said Matt Coelho.
——-
Faith Abercrombie is a reporter for KGUN 9. Before coming to KGUN, Faith worked as a videographer for the Phoenix Children's Hospital Foundation and as a reporter and producer on the youth suicide documentary, "Life is..." on Arizona PBS.
Share your story ideas with Faith by emailing faith.abercrombie@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook, or Twitter.
