Every week at All Saints Church we put our faith into action. This week we are urging the United States Senate to protect LGBTQ+ marriage equality and interracial marriage from extremist right-wing attacks by passing the Respect for Marriage Act, S. 4556.

When the right-wing hijacked Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, Justice Clarence Thomas wrote a concurring opinion that Obergefell, Griswold, and Lawrence (the rulings that protect contraception, same-sex sexual intimacy, and marriage equality for the LGBTQ+ community) should be revisited next.¹ It is so scary, but not surprising at all. Politicians aligned with this extremism have made it crystal clear: Overturning Roe v. Wade is just the tip of the iceberg.

Democrats in the House of Representatives quickly introduced and passed the Respect for Marriage Act, a bill that would codify both LGBTQ+ and interracial marriage into federal law and would protect it from the same kind of attacks that right-wing politicians and Supreme Court justices launched against abortion.² And though the bill passed in the U.S. House of Representatives with some Republican support, 157 House Republicans voted against it. That’s right: 157 Republicans voted against protecting interracial marriage and same-sex marriage.³ And ONLY five Republicans in the U.S. Senate have publicly said they would vote to pass the bill. It’s unacceptable, but part of an extremist agenda has been to relentlessly attack the LGBTQ+ community.

After Roe v. Wade was overturned, LGBTQ+ couples and families have been anxiously rushing to the courts to get married, completing second-parent adoptions with their partners, worrying about whether or not their partners and families will be covered by their health insurance in the future, and doing so much more to protect their families from these attacks.⁹ It’s heartbreaking. No one should have to worry that their rights (that so many have fought and died for) will be stripped away at the hands of corrupt, illegitimate, and unelected Supreme Court justices who do not represent the broad consensus of the American people.

Unfortunately, the fact that very few Republican elected officials support protecting interracial and LGBTQ+ marriage is not shocking, even though the vast majority of Americans absolutely do support such measures. Especially considering the fact that many Republican politicians are already actively running a full-court press across the country to attack our most vulnerable communities and to put the LGBTQ+ community in harm’s way by introducing over 100 anti-LGBTQ+ bills, most of which target trans and nonbinary youth.¹⁰

This is unacceptable. The U.S. Senate needs to act. It’s time to pass the Respect for Marriage Act to protect interracial and LGBTQ+ marriage. We support and strongly urge its passage.

Options to Take Action:

1. Sign on to the letters at the Action Table outside the church on Sunday morning.
2. Download a copy of the Action Letter that you can sign and mail.
   Letter for Residents of CA                           Letter for Residents outside CA
3. Participate in the action at the Move On website.

Sources:

1. “Thomas wants the Supreme Court to overturn landmark rulings that legalized contraception, same-sex marriage,” NBC News, June 24, 2022
   https://act.moveon.org/go/163991?t=24&akid=331033%2E15252948%2ELdcsvS
2. “House passes same-sex marriage bill in retort to high court,” AP News, July 19, 2022
   https://act.moveon.org/go/164412?t=26&akid=331033%2E15252948%2ELdcsvS
3. “The House Passed the Respect for Marriage Act. 157 Republicans Voted Against It,” Them, July 20, 2022
   https://act.moveon.org/go/165334?t=28&akid=331033%2E15252948%2ELdcsvS
4. “Queer Parents Rush To Complete Second-Parent Adoptions After Overturning Of Roe v. Wade,” HuffPost, July 26, 2022
   https://act.moveon.org/go/165337?t=40&akid=331033%2E15252948%2ELdcsvS
5. “Hundreds of anti-LGBTQ bills have already been introduced this year. Here may be why,” NPR, April 14, 2022
   https://act.moveon.org/go/163323?t=42&akid=331033%2E15252948%2ELdcsvS

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If you ever need to look up your member of the U.S. House of Representatives or your U.S. Senators check here: www.house.gov and www.senate.gov.

To find contact information for your California State Senator or California State Assemblymember check here: www.senate.ca.gov and www.assembly.ca.gov.