making history

White House lit in rainbow colors after Biden signs the Respect For Marriage act

 

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Rainbow lights illuminated the south portico of the White House yesterday. The display came after President Joe Biden signed the Respect for Marriage Act.

The House passed the legislation last week by a vote of 258-169. The Act offers federal protections to same-sex marriages and interracial marriages. The Senate previously passed it a week earlier but added amendments that required a second vote in the House.

The outdoor signing ceremony was attended by around 2,000 lawmakers, LGBTQ advocates and campaigners. Performances came from Sam Smith and long-time LGBTQ ally Cyndi Lauper.

 

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President Biden posted a series of tweets celebrating the passing of the legislation.

“Today, America takes another step toward equality. Toward liberty and justice not just for some, but for all,” he said beforehand. “Because today, I sign the Respect for Marriage Act into law.”

He went on to thank advocates who fought for this moment.

During yesterday’s ceremony, Biden also called on lawmakers to pass the Equality Act. It would offer further protections to LGBTQ people.

“When a person can be married in the morning and thrown out of a restaurant for being gay in the afternoon, this is still wrong. Wrong,” he said.

Why do we need the Respect for Marriage Act?

Although the US Supreme Court made same-sex marriage across the US in 2015, justices indicated over the summer the decision could be reviewed. It came in the wake of SCOTUS repealing pro-abortion laws.

Lawmakers introduced the Respect for Marriage Act to offer some federal level of protection, even if amendments offering some religious exemptions were added to get it over the line.

Related: GOP nutjob becomes hysterical as she begs fellow lawmakers not to vote for same-sex marriage bill

The legislation requires the federal government and states to recognize legally performed marriages in other states and repeals the Defense of Marriage Act. That 1996 bill recognized marriage as “only a legal union between one man and one woman.”

“It’s one thing for the Supreme Court to rule on a case,” said Biden yesterday. “But it’s another thing entirely if elected representatives of the people take a vote on the floor of the United States Congress and say loudly and clearly: Love is love, right is right, justice is justice.”

Yesterday was not the first time the White House glowed with rainbow lights. Following the SCOTUS ruling in 2015, the Obama administration similarly illuminated the north side of the building.

Related: Sam Smith’s latest look brings out the trolls as “Unholy” continues to dominate the charts

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