{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://delbene.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=3269", "Congress Approves Historic Protections for Same-Sex, Interracial Marriages", "2022-12-08", "2022", "2022-12", "Democrat", "House", "WA", "Suzan K. DelBene", "D000617", "delbene.house.gov", "delbene", "https://delbene.house.gov/news/documentquery.aspx?DocumentTypeID=27", "scraper", "Today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Respect for Marriage Act (H.R. 8404), which will enshrine historic safeguards for same-sex and interracial marriages into law.\n\nThe legislation is important and timely after the Supreme Court\u2019s dangerous decision earlier this year overturning Roe v. Wade, the longstanding decision that provided federal protections for abortion access. While the court\u2019s decision did not directly target marriage equality, Justice Thomas expressed interest in revisiting cases that uphold these fundamental rights for American families.\n\n\u201cLove is love. Couples that are building their lives, families, and futures together should have certainty that the federal government will recognize and respect them. Ever since the Supreme Court\u2019s conservative majority took away the right of women to choose if and when they want to have a child, many across the country have worried what rights could be taken away next.\u201d said DelBene. \u201cThis historic, bipartisan step will provide same-sex and interracial couples the same certainty and protections that all families deserve. There should be no second-class relationships in this country.\u201d\n\nThe Respect for Marriage Act:\n\nRepeals the discriminatory Defense of Marriage Act. Although this law was ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court\u2019s marriage equality decisions, it remains on the books. Enacting the Respect for Marriage Act finally erases the discriminatory law from U.S. law.\n\nProtects marriage equality by ensuring that for federal law purposes people are considered married if the marriage was valid in the state where it was performed.\n\nProvides additional protections at the state level by prohibiting any person acting under 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 people in the marriage.\n\nDelBene voted for the Respect for Marriage Act in July. An amendment to the legislation passed the Senate 61-36 on November 29, which the House approved today. It now goes to President Biden who has said he will sign the bill.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-08T03:32:05Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://delbene.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=3269"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.9791140910238028, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}