Lame Duck Congress starts with bang

After the Democrats’ surprising showing in the midterms, they opened the Lame Duck session of Congress on Wednesday, November 16, 2022, moving remaining legislation and beginning to confirm long-delayed Biden administration nominees.

Protecting same-sex marriage

A bipartisan group of Senators announced on Tuesday, November 15, they had the votes to pass the Respect for Marriage Act, which would codify the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Obergefell v. Hodges and repeal the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, which defined marriage as the union of one man and one woman and allowed states to refuse to recognize same-sex marriages performed by other states. The Act would require that people be considered married in any state as long as the marriage was valid in the state where it was performed.

On Wednesday, the Act passed 62-37 with 12 Republicans voting with the Democrats in a procedural vote. Now the Act can pass the Senate with a simple majority. The House approved the original Act in July but will have to vote again on the revised bill, which amended the Act. The Act was amended to ensure it would not diminish religious or conscious protections or other benefits, rights, or status unrelated to marriage.

The Democrats were concerned that after the Supreme Court’s reversal of Roe v. Wade, based on Justice Clarence Thomas’ concurring opinion in Roe, the Court would reverse the right to same-sex marriage.

NDA ban on sexual assault and sexual harassment