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A bill granting federal protections to same-sex marriage gained rare bipartisan support in the U.S. Senate on Wednesday, as Democrats rushed to preserve it while they still control Congress.
A dozen Republicans joined all 50 Democrats in the Senate to clear a procedural hurdle requiring 60 “yes” votes for a bill on a once deeply divisive issue to reach the full Senate.
President Joe Biden’s Democrats narrowly retained control of the Senate in last week’s midterm elections, but Republicans are expected to win the lower chamber, albeit also by a slim majority.
That portends a split and gridlock in the legislature when a new Congress is sworn in in January.
In the United States, same-sex unions have been guaranteed by the Supreme Court since 2015.
But after a court historicly overturned a longstanding ruling earlier this year protecting abortion rights, many progressives worry that same-sex marriage could also be under threat.
In mid-July, the House of Representatives passed a law protecting such unions nationwide. All House Democrats and 47 Republicans support the bill, but nearly 160 Republicans oppose it.
After passing the Senate — a vote is expected soon, but no date has been set — the bill must now return again to the House for a final vote.
“Love is love, and Americans should have the right to marry the one they love,” Biden said in a statement, vowing to sign the bill once it passes. “Today’s bipartisan vote brings America one step closer to legally protecting that right.”
The bill passed Wednesday would not require states to legalize same-sex marriage. But it does require them to recognize same-sex marriages from other states.
So if the Supreme Court overturns the 2015 ruling legalizing same-sex marriage, states that ban same-sex marriage will still have to recognize such unions in other states.
Polls show an overwhelming majority of Americans support same-sex marriage, but it remains controversial. Thirty-seven Republicans voted no on Wednesday, while the religious right remains largely opposed to such unions.
Republican Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who has a lot of influence in his caucus, voted against the bill.
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