U.S. Rep. Fred Upton, R-St. Joseph, today issued the following statement after voting for the Respect for Marriage Act, a bill to codify interracial and same-sex marriages while protecting religious liberties as described in the Constitution.
“To reverse a law in which a number of states, including Michigan, has stood for decades would be flat out wrong,” Upton said. “The Respect for Marriage Act codifies the protections millions of Americans depend on to marry, to start a family, and to build a community without infringing upon an individual’s religious liberties. This commonsense legislation reinforces one’s religious liberty and conscience protections provided by the Constitution and Federal law without conflicting with the progress our country has made.”
Following the bipartisan Senate vote, 61 to 36, the House passed the bill 258 to 169. Rep. Upton and Rep. Peter Meijer (R-MI) were the only two GOP Representatives from Michigan to support the bill. Republican Leaders Whip-elect Tom Emmer (R-MN) and Conference Chair Elise Stefanik (R-NY) also supported the act. It is expected to be signed into law by President Biden as soon as today.
While the bill would not set a national requirement that all states must legalize same-sex marriage, it would require individual states to recognize another state’s legal marriage.
