Hi there,

Our generous triple match has been extended, which means your donation to Democracy Now! today will be TRIPLED. If you give $10, we'll get $30 to support our independent journalism. Please don’t miss out on this opportunity to triple your impact. Democracy Now! is a free source of independent news for tens of millions of people around the world, but less than 1% of our global audience donates to support our critical reporting. Let’s pick up the percentage! We rely on you for support—not the oil, gas, coal and nuclear companies when we cover the climate crisis or the weapons manufacturers when we cover war. I hope you’ll give as much as you can today. Every dollar makes a difference. Thanks so much.
-Amy Goodman

Non-commercial news needs your support.

We rely on contributions from you, our viewers and listeners to do our work. If you visit us daily or weekly or even just once a month, now is a great time to make your monthly contribution.

Please do your part today.

Donate

Activists and Lawmakers Gather to Celebrate as Biden Signs Marriage Equality Bill

HeadlineDec 14, 2022

President Biden signed the Respect for Marriage Act into law Tuesday, enshrining federal protections for same-sex and interracial marriages. Biden spoke at the celebratory event, which featured musical performers and a White House illuminated in rainbow colors.

President Joe Biden: “Racism, antisemitism, homophobia, transphobia — they’re all connected. But the antidote to hate is love.”

The new law would not prevent states from banning same-sex marriage if the conservative-led Supreme Court overturns Obergefell v. Hodges, but it would force those states to recognize marriages from another state. It also repeals the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act.

Among the speakers at the White House ceremony were Gina and Heidi Nortonsmith, plaintiffs in the lawsuit that led to marriage equality in Massachusetts. This is Heidi Nortonsmith.

Heidi Nortonsmith: “It takes the efforts of many to bend the arc of history toward justice. Even now there are so many places where people in our community are under attack. The work will continue. But look at how far we’ve come.”

The original content of this program is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. Please attribute legal copies of this work to democracynow.org. Some of the work(s) that this program incorporates, however, may be separately licensed. For further information or additional permissions, contact us.

Non-commercial news needs your support

We rely on contributions from our viewers and listeners to do our work.
Please do your part today.
Make a donation
Top