House Democrats on Tuesday passed a bill to codify same-sex marriage rights, calling it a preemptive strike against a conservative-leaning Supreme Court that they say won’t stop at overturning the nationwide right to abortion.
It is also the latest measure passed by House Democrats that has no chance of surviving the Senate but telegraphs the party’s values to voters.
The Respect for Marriage Act, which passed 267 to 157, would repeal a Clinton-era law that defines marriage as a heterogeneous union between a man and a woman. Democrats were joined by 47 Republicans in approving the measure.