US President Joe Biden signed into law a law on the White House lawn yesterday Tuesday that protects same-sex marriage in the United States.
When he signed the law, Biden described that step as a critical step “toward equality and freedom and justice, not just for some, but for all,” as he said.
The signing of this law carries with it great symbolism, especially for the president of the United States, who expressed his support for the right to “marry for all” 10 years ago, when he was vice president Barack Obama.
Biden invited a group of lawmakers from the Democratic Party and Republican opponents, as well as “activists and people who have initiated legal measures on marriage for all” in the United States to the signing ceremony of the law, according to his spokeswoman Karen Jean-Pierre.
Jean Pierre – the first black and lesbian woman to hold the position of White House spokesperson in US history – confirmed that this law “will bring serenity to millions of gay couples and people of different races, and they now enjoy the rights and the protection they and their children deserve,” she said.
The Supreme Court has guaranteed the right of gays to marry in the United States since 2015, but after the historic change in its abortion ruling last June, many gay rights advocates feared a change in this case as well.
The text approved by Congress repealed the previous legislation that defined marriage exclusively as the union between a man and a woman, and prohibited civil registry employees, whatever the state in which they work, from any discrimination against spouses “by reason of sex, race, ethnicity or origin.”
Less than 10 days after being adopted in the Senate, the bill passed in the House of Representatives with votes from all Democrats and 39 Republicans, while 169 Republicans opposed.
