The Senate will vote this week to codify legal protections for same-sex and interracial marriages. The bill has enough GOP support to pass. Via HuffPost:
“We have the votes,” a source close to negotiations confirmed Monday.
A bipartisan group of senators has been trying for months to pass a marriage equality bill to protect same-sex and interracial relationships. The House passed its own legislation in July, but that proposal stalled in the Senate, where some Republicans raised concerns that it would stifle religious liberty.
Things got more complicated when, around the same time, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) announced a surprise deal on a massive tax and climate change bill. Republicans were so mad that Democrats were ready to pass that deal without them that some signaled they would pull their support for a forthcoming same-sex marriage bill.
But with the midterm elections over and Democrats in position to hold the Senate for another two years, it looks like some Republicans are coming back to the table.
It ain't perfect. Because of the time constraints of a lame-duck session and the need for Republican votes to break a filibuster, it does leave it up to states to issue a valid marriage license -- and a lot of people are understandably furious. But remember, this was a response to Clarence Thomas inviting suits to overturn those rights, and they were in a hurry to get it done while they still had the votes.
Once this passes (they're expected to vote tomorrow), if you are already legally married, Clarence and Ginni can't do a damn thing about it. And that was the point.
