The publication is reproduced in full below:
RESPECT FOR MARRIAGE ACT
______
speech of
HON. SHEILA JACKSON LEE
of texas
in the house of representatives
Tuesday, July 19, 2022
Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to rise in strong support of H.R. 8404, the ``Respect for Marriage Act.''
This Act would enshrine in federal law marriage equality for same sex and interracial couples.
I would also repeal the discriminatory Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) of 1996 that problematically defined marriage as between one man and one woman.
The Supreme Court's backwards ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization that was used to justify overturning the right to abortion could be weaponized in the future to strip away other fundamental rights, including the right to marriage equality.
In his concurring opinion in Dobbs, Justice Clarence Thomas explicitly called on the Supreme Court to reconsider its decisions protecting other fundamental rights, including the right to same-sex marriage recognized in Obergefell v. Hodges.
Although Justice Thomas conveniently chose not to mention the right to interracial marriage--a right he currently enjoys--that right relies on the same constitutional doctrines as the right to same-sex marriage, and therefore, could also be on the chopping block.
The Supreme Court's rulings in Loving v. Virginia, and Obergefell v. Hodges were founded on the promise of unenumerated rights and due process for all American people as guaranteed in the 9th and 14th Amendments of our Nation's Constitution.
The 9th Amendment states that the Federal Government does not retain final authority over rights not listed in the Constitution--including the right to marry someone regardless of their sex or race.
No, that very personal and intimate right, remains retained by the people.
Additionally, the 14th Amendment ensures that no right afforded to the American people can be taken away without due process of law, while also guaranteeing to all Americans that they shall have equal protection under the law.
Equal protection under the law.
The same law that applies to a Black man wishing to marry a Hispanic woman must be applied equally to an Indigenous woman wishing to marry a White woman, a nonbinary individual wishing to marry a man, and so on.
That is the constitutional promise in the United States.
Marriage equality is not a right that can be stripped away by a conservative faction of the United States Supreme Court, nor by extremist Republican legislators.
It is a fundamental aspect of our democracy.
The assurances of the 14th Amendment became part of our national governing documents as a protection against those who would use their power to wipe away the freedoms of others without restraint or consent of the governed.
It is unfortunate that we must rely on its strength again today.
The night before the Dobbs ruling, LGBTQI+ couples and people in interracial relationships went to sleep confident in the legality of their marriages.
They had no reason to believe that the next morning five individuals would pass a ruling that would strip women of their right to abortion and threaten the legality of their marriage unions.
On June 24th, amidst the horror of the Court's ruling against abortion rights, innocent LGBTQI+, Black, and Brown people had to also grapple with the possibility that the legality of their marriages might be violently stripped away.
We cannot and will not allow Republican lawmakers and conservative Justices to toy with the rights of the American people.
That is why I strongly support the Respect for Marriage Act.
This act would ensure that an individual be considered married as long as the marriage was valid in the State where it was performed.
This ensures that same-sex and interracial couples would continue to enjoy equal treatment under Federal law--as the Constitution requires.
This bill would go further by officially repealing the Defense of Marriage Act.
While the Supreme Court effectively rendered DOMA inert with its decision in Obergefell, this unconstitutional and discriminatory law, however, still officially remains on the books.
Therefore, H.R. 8404 would repeal DOMA once and for all.
The Respect for Marriage Act would also prohibit any person acting under color of 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 individuals in the marriage.
It would also authorize the U.S. Attorney General to enforce these protections and would create recourses of action for any individual harmed by a violation of this provision.
If conservative lawmakers and Justices want to wage war against human and civil rights, we are ready to meet them toe for toe.
We will meet them with the full strength of the United States Bill of Rights to defend the American people against discrimination and injustice.
We will not back down for marriage equality.
We will not back down for racial justice.
We will ensure equal rights for all American people.
I strongly put my full support behind H.R. 8404, the Respect for Marriage Act, and encourage my colleagues to do the same.
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SOURCE: Congressional Record Vol. 168, No. 122(1), Congressional Record Vol. 168, No. 122(2)
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