Rep. Vargas Votes to Protect Marriage Equality and Sends Respect for Marriage Act to President Biden’s Desk
WASHINGTON, D.C (December 8, 2022) — Today, Congressmember Juan Vargas voted to pass the Respect for Marriage Act. This legislation would ensure the protection of marriage rights from bigoted conservative attacks by enshrining marriage equality rights for same sex and interracial couples into federal law and repealing the discriminatory Defense of Marriage Act.
“No one should be discriminated against because of who they are, where they are from, or who they love,” said Rep. Vargas. “Today, we reaffirmed that bigotry and discrimination have no place in our society. The Respect for Marriage Act will ensure that interracial couples and the LGBTQ+ community are afforded equal rights under the law. I look forward to President Biden signing this landmark legislation into law. Love is love.”
The Respect for Marriage Act would:
- Enshrine marriage equality for federal law purposes, by requiring that an individual be considered married if the marriage was valid in the state where it was performed;
- Repeal the discriminatory Defense of Marriage Act, guaranteeing that even if the Supreme Court decisions that ended its enforcement were overturned, the statute would no longer be on the books;
- And prohibits 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 individuals in the marriage.
The bill will now go to President Biden’s desk to be signed into law.
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Vargas represents California’s 51st Congressional District which includes the southern portion of San Diego County, all of Imperial County and California’s entire U.S.-Mexico border. Vargas was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2012 and is currently serving his fifth term in Congress. He serves on the House Financial Services Committee and House Foreign Affairs Committee.