©2026 League of Conservation Voters
Issues
The Senate considered H.R. 8404, the Respect for Marriage Act, as amended, to protect same-sex and interracial marriages under federal law; to require states to accord full faith and credit to out-of-state marriages without discrimination on the basis of sex, race, ethnicity, or national origin; and to provide for enforcement of the right to marriage equality. The rights to same-sex and interracial marriages are protected by the United States Constitution under landmark Supreme Court precedents including Loving v. Virginia, United States v. Windsor, and Obergefell v. Hodges. However, in 2022 the Supreme Court removed a constitutional right for the first time in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which ended the right to abortion access. The decision in Dobbs, as well as Justice Clarence Thomas’ concurring opinion explicitly calling for the Court to “reconsider” Obergefell, led House Chair Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) and others to propose statutory protections for the right to marriage equality. Additionally, majority support for this bill in Congress highlights the extreme decisions of the current Supreme Court majority, that has also undermined protections for the environment, democracy, and racial justice. On November 29, the Senate approved H.R. 8404 by a vote of 61-36 (Senate roll call vote 362). YES IS THE PRO-ENVIRONMENT VOTE. The House approved the Senate-amended H.R. 8404 on December 8, and the president signed this legislation into law on December 13.
©2026 League of Conservation Voters