COLUMBIA, S.C. (WSPA) — Federal lawmakers are one step closer to protecting same-sex and interracial marriage across the country.
This week, the US Senate voted 61-36 to pass the Respect for Marriage Act. South Carolina Senators Tim Scott and Lindsey Graham voted against the bill.
On Twitter, Senator Graham said the bill lacked protections for religious freedoms.
An initial bill was introduced in the House of Representatives in July to codify same-sex and interracial marriage protections into federal law.
This was done after the overturning of Roe v. Wade and a proposal by Justice Clarence Thomas to review some of the decisions of the US Supreme Court.
One such case was Obergefell v. Hodges. In that decision, the justices ruled that same-sex couples are constitutionally guaranteed a fundamental right to marry.
Savannah Brown and her wife Alex got married in 2019. Brown said the legislation has been filled with uncertainty for months, but the Senate vote brought some relief to her family.
Brown said: “We have children. I’m just a normal person with two kids. I stay at home with them, they are the center of our world. Our marriage is the unit of protection we provide them.’
Palmetto Family Council President and CEO Dave Wilson is concerned about the federal law’s impact on religious institutions in South Carolina.
Wilson said, “When you start taking a civil union and labeling it as marriage, you’re really undermining the foundation of the First Amendment, which is freedom of religion and the cornerstone of our society.”
A poll released by Winthrop University earlier this month found that 56% of respondents in South Carolina believe same-sex marriage should be legal.
The “Respect for Marriage Act” now returns to the House of Representatives, where it is expected to be passed and sent to the president’s desk before the end of the year.