Windy City Media Group Frontpage News

THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985

home search facebook twitter join
Gay News Sponsor Windy City Times 2023-12-13
DOWNLOAD ISSUE
Donate

Sponsor
Sponsor
Sponsor

  WINDY CITY TIMES

Senate marriage equality bill advances with 62-37 bipartisan vote
by Matt Simonette
2022-11-16

This article shared 2848 times since Wed Nov 16, 2022
facebook twitter pin it google +1 reddit email


A bipartisan group of U.S. Senators voted 62-37 for cloture—the end of debate—for the Respect for Marriage Act (RMA), signaling passage in the near future for the measure that enshrines marriage equality into federal law.

The final vote on the Senate floor will take place after Thanksgiving, according to reports. The RMA overturns the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act and offers protections for LGBTQ+ Americans should the Supreme Court overturn its marriage equality decisions, returning those rules to the states, as the Court did with reproductive rights via its Hobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization decision.

"The importance of this vote cannot be overstated — it is in some part proactive defensive legislation of the conservative majority of the Supreme Court's clear threats against marriage for same-sex couples," said Kierra Johnson, executive director of the National LGBTQ Task Force Action Fund. "We support the RMA—a bipartisan compromise — because it would protect millions of same-sex and interracial couples by ensuring their marriages be respected by federal and state governments. It would remove the discriminatory federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) off the books and replace disrespect with respect. The RMA and our families enjoy strong interfaith support, and it is worth noting that this bill would not change existing constitutional religious freedoms.

"Majority Leader Senator Charles Schumer has been strongly advocating for this bill, talking openly about his own daughter and her wife, and their need for these protections. In her opening statement, Sen. Tammy Baldwin (a lesbian) recognized Sen. Feinstein, the leader on bill, and work of Sen. Collins, Sen. Portman, Sen. Sinema (a bisexual woman) and Sen. Tillis for their steadfast commitment to preparing the RMA for this week's historic votes, which we hope will lead to final passage."

GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis said in a Twitter message: "As extremist politicians push anti-LGBTQ playbooks on the state level and right-wing U.S. Supreme Court justices overturn other legal precedent, the bipartisan Respect for Marriage Act is an opportunity for our leaders to come together to send a message of equal treatment for everyone. All married couples, including same-sex and interracial couples, are worthy of dignity, respect, and equal protection under the law."

HRC Incoming President Kelley Robinson said: "The devastating United States Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade was a clear reminder that we are just one Supreme Court decision away from losing too many of our hard fought for rights. In the concurring opinion, Justice Thomas made the outrageous suggestion that Lawrence v. Texas and Obergefell v. Hodges should be next to be challenged. It is clear there is an urgent, dire need to ensure, once and for all, that the days of debate around marriage equality are over. The will of the people is on our side.

"568,000 same-sex, married couples across America rely upon the decisions in Windsor v. United States and Obergefell v. Hodges, and they deserve to know that the federal government has no intention of going back to the dark days of DOMA. The Respect for Marriage Act is an essential piece of legislation that affirms that every marriage, and every family, is valid and beautiful. Today's strong bipartisan vote of 62-37 for cloture is an incredible victory that cannot be taken lightly—this vote was the bill's biggest procedural roadblock, and now we steer our focus forward to the Senate's final vote on this historic legislation. Our work is not done."


This article shared 2848 times since Wed Nov 16, 2022
facebook twitter pin it google +1 reddit email

Out and Aging
Presented By

  ARTICLES YOU MIGHT LIKE

Gay News

College athletes sue NCAA over transgender policies
2024-03-15
Former Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines was among a group of college athletes who filed a lawsuit against the NCAA on March 14, accusing it of violating their Title IX rights by allowing trans swimmer Lia Thomas ...


Gay News

Howard Brown experts discuss advocacy and allyship for Chicago's trans community
2024-03-14
By Alec Karam - Howard Brown Health's Trans & Gender Diverse People's Rights & Patient Care panel convened March 12 to discuss both resources for—and opportunities to provide allyship to—the city's trans and gender diverse communities. The event hos ...


Gay News

Women's History Month doesn't do enough to lift up Black lesbians
2024-03-12
Fifty years ago, in 1974, the Combahee River Collective (CRC) was founded in Boston by several lesbian and feminist women of African descent. As a sisterhood, they understood that their acts of protest were shouldered by ...


Gay News

LGBTQ+ Victory Fund remembers co-founder David Mixner
2024-03-12
--From a press release - Today, LGBTQ+ Victory Fund President & CEO Mayor Annise Parker released the following statement on the passing of LGBTQ+ civil rights activist and LGBTQ+ Victory Fund co-founder David Mixner: "Today, we lost David Mixner, a founding ...


Gay News

Federal investigation initiated in Nex Benedict case
2024-03-02
The U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights has started an investigation into the Oklahoma school district where Nex Benedict, a transgender 16-year-old sophomore, went to school and was bullied before his death, The Advocate ...


Gay News

Ghana parliament passes harsh anti-LGBTQ+ bill
2024-02-29
On Feb. 28, Ghana's parliament unanimously passed a controversial anti-LGBTQ+ bill that has been condemned globally. The so-called Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Act, which was introduced in the parliament in 2021, not only criminalizes ...


Gay News

ELECTIONS 2024 Kelly Cassidy discusses reproductive health, LGBTQ+ rights ahead of March primary
2024-02-26
By Kayleigh Padar State Rep. Kelly Cassidy, running unopposed in the March 19 primary election so as to continue representing the 14th District, was first elected in 2011. During her tenure in Springfield, she has ...


Gay News

WORLD South Africa murder, lesbian couple, Brianna Ghey, Eurovision
2024-02-16
In South Africa, LGBTQ+-rights groups condemned the brutal murder of Diego Jacobs, a queer man in Cape Town, The Washington Blade reported. Reports indicate Jacobs, 21, was brutally murdered (reportedly by a former neighbor) on Feb. ...


Gay News

Greek legislature approves marriage equality
2024-02-15
Greece has become the 36th country, and the first Christian Orthodox-majority one, to legalize same-sex marriage. The BBC reported that same-sex couples will now also be legally allowed to adopt children after the 176-76 vote that ...


Gay News

Tenn. legislators back bill that lets officials refuse to perform same-sex weddings
2024-02-15
Defying a national ruling that authorized marriage equality, Tennessee lawmakers approved a measure that would allow public officials to refuse to perform weddings of same-sex couples, The Hill reported. Tennessee's House Bill 878/Senate Bill 596 says ...


Gay News

Human Rights Campaign report releases new data on experiences of Black queer youth
2024-02-14
--From a press release - WASHINGTON — Today, the Human Rights Campaign Foundation (HRC), the educational arm of the nation's largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) civil rights organization, released a report in ...


Gay News

Equality Illinois makes 77 pro-equality, pro-family endorsements for 2024 primary election
2024-02-13
--From a press release - CHICAGO - Equality Illinois, the state's civil rights organization for LGBTQ+ Illinoisans, on Tuesday announced state legislative and county-level endorsements for the primary election on Tuesday, March 19, 2024. "Equality ...


Gay News

TAWANI Foundation commits $25K to StartOut, supporting LGBTQ+ entrepreneurship
2024-02-08
--From a press release - CHICAGO — February 8, 2024 — The TAWANI Foundation, a 501(c)(3) that provides support in the areas of arts and culture, historical preservation, health and wellness, LGBTQ+ and human rights ...


Gay News

HRC honors Domingo, Lysette, Macy's CEO at New York dinner
2024-02-04
On Feb. 3, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) brought together more than 1,000 LGBTQ+ advocates and supporters from across the country for its annual Greater New York Dinner. This year's event honored members of the LGBTQ+ ...


Gay News

WORLD Marriage in Greece, UK politics, cruise death, HRC grants
2024-02-02
The Holy Synod of the Church of Greece unanimously agreed at a recent meeting that it is "strongly opposed" to the Greek government's promised bill on same-sex marriage and adoption, Balkan Insight reported. The conservative New ...


 


Copyright © 2024 Windy City Media Group. All rights reserved.
Reprint by permission only. PDFs for back issues are downloadable from
our online archives.

Return postage must accompany all manuscripts, drawings, and
photographs submitted if they are to be returned, and no
responsibility may be assumed for unsolicited materials.

All rights to letters, art and photos sent to Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago
Gay and Lesbian News and Feature Publication) will be treated
as unconditionally assigned for publication purposes and as such,
subject to editing and comment. The opinions expressed by the
columnists, cartoonists, letter writers, and commentators are
their own and do not necessarily reflect the position of Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay,
Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature Publication).

The appearance of a name, image or photo of a person or group in
Nightspots (Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times
(a Chicago Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature
Publication) does not indicate the sexual orientation of such
individuals or groups. While we encourage readers to support the
advertisers who make this newspaper possible, Nightspots (Chicago
GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay, Lesbian
News and Feature Publication) cannot accept responsibility for
any advertising claims or promotions.

 
 

TRENDINGBREAKINGPHOTOS







Sponsor


 



Donate


About WCMG      Contact Us      Online Front  Page      Windy City  Times      Nightspots
Identity      BLACKlines      En La Vida      Archives      Advanced Search     
Windy City Queercast      Queercast Archives     
Press  Releases      Join WCMG  Email List      Email Blast      Blogs     
Upcoming Events      Todays Events      Ongoing Events      Bar Guide      Community Groups      In Memoriam     
Privacy Policy     

Windy City Media Group publishes Windy City Times,
The Bi-Weekly Voice of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Trans Community.
5315 N. Clark St. #192, Chicago, IL 60640-2113 • PH (773) 871-7610 • FAX (773) 871-7609.