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The U.S. Senate on Tuesday passed a bill protecting same-sex and interracial marriages, sending the measure to the House of Representatives for a separate vote.
The bill was approved 61-36, with support from 12 Republicans.
Titled the Respect for Marriage Act, the measure would not force states to grant marriage licenses to same-sex couples. But it would require states to recognize all marriages that were legal where they were performed. And it would require states to protect interracial marriages by recognizing legal marriages regardless of race.
The measure, which President Joe Biden has pledged to sign, followed fears by some lawmakers that the conservative Supreme Court majority could take away same-sex marriage rights.
