The U.S. Senate passed landmark legislation this week enshrining protections for same sex and interracial marriages in federal law in a bipartisan vote that marked a dramatic turnaround on a once highly divisive issue.
The Senate action marks a major hurdle for the legislation, which President Biden has said he will sign into law pending a vote in the House of Representatives.
Leonore F. Carpenter, a Rutgers Law School professor who has served as an LGBTQA rights attorney, explains what the Respect for Marriage Act accomplishes, and what is does not.