In their new op-ed for The Advocate, founding partner Roberta “Robbie” Kaplan and managing partner Julie Fink discuss the proposed legislation the Respect for Marriage Act and how the current political landscape has endangered numerous substantial rights, and implore senators to think about the risk of inaction.
Nine years ago last month, our client Edie Windsor won her long fight to have this country treat her marriage with her late wife, Thea Spyer, with the same respect and dignity as straight marriages. In her case, United States v. Windsor, the Supreme Court struck down section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act, which deprived lesbian and gay couples of the intangible dignity and tangible benefits of marriage under federal law. The Respect for Marriage Act, abbreviated as RFMA (H.R. 8404), would officially repeal section 2 of DOMA by prohibiting states from denying full faith and credit to same-sex marriages in other states. The proposed legislation will require at least 10 Republican votes.
“Some might say we don’t need this law because Obergefell guaranteed marriage equality in all 50 states,” Robbie and Julie write, referencing Obergefell v. Hodges, which recognized the constitutional right of gay people to marry nationwide under the Fourteenth Amendment. “But as recent news has made clear, the court has dramatically shifted since 2015, and rights that were once considered firmly rooted in precedent are suddenly not so rooted at all.”
Read the full op-ed here.