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Senate to revisit Respect for Marriage Act after Thanksgiving break
Bill advanced this week with Republican support
Just before midnight on Thursday, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) announced that consideration of the Respect for Marriage Act and an associated amendment will resume on Nov. 28, when the chamber reconvenes following the Thanksgiving break.
The historic legislation would preserve the more than 1,100 rights and benefits enjoyed by married same-sex couples regardless of whether the constitutional right to marriage equality survives the U.S. Supreme Court’s supermajority.
Support for the Respect for Marriage Act is bipartisan, with a dozen Republican Senators joining the entire Democratic caucus in a cloture vote yesterday to advance the bill to a full floor vote. Likewise, this summer, the House passed its version of the Respect for Marriage Act with unanimous support from Democratic members and 47 of their Republican colleagues.
President Joe Biden has urged Congress to expeditiously send the Respect for Marriage Act to his desk where it will become law.
Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), who is a lesbian, was widely credited with building momentum for the legislation and forging consensus among members of the upper chamber. On Thursday, she spoke in personal terms about the bill in an address to her colleagues from the Senate floor.
Writing a concurring opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas “said the rationale used to overturn Roe v. Wade should be used to overturn cases establishing rights to contraception, same-sex sexual relations, and same-sex marriage,” Baldwin said.
With the Respect for Marriage Act, she said, “Congress is acting with the full throated endorsement of the American people” because the Supreme Court “should not be in the position to undermine the stability of families with the stroke of a pen.”
Also addressing their colleagues today with messages of support for the bill were Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine), Rob Portman (R-Ohio), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), and Krysten Sinema (D-Ariz.), who have all been vocal champions of the Respect for Marriage Act. These lawmakers worked to ensure concerns among some in the Republican caucus were assuaged with an amendment that preserves “religious liberties” and upholds “conscience protections.”
WorldPride 2025 concluded with the WorldPride Street Festival and Closing Concert held along Pennsylvania Ave., N.W. on Sunday, June 8. Performers on the main stage included Doechii, Khalid, Courtney Act, Parker Matthews, 2AM Ricky, Suzie Toot, MkX and Brooke Eden.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
Celebrating the transgender community, Baltimore Safe Haven, an organization committed to empowering LGBTQ individuals in Baltimore City, plans to host their fourth annual Baltimore Trans Pride on Saturday.
Instead of the usual parade and march, this year’s Trans Pride will be a block party on Charles Street and between 21st and 22nd Streets. The event will start at 1 p.m. with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and last until 10 p.m.
Community members can go on guided tours, enjoy refreshments by local vendors, listen to presenters, and watch performances by special guests.
Sukihana, the event’s headliner, plans to take to the stage to entertain the crowd, along with a variety of local performers, according to Melissa Deveraux, Baltimore Safe Haven’s executive assistant to Executive Director Iya Dammons.
“Some (are) prominently known, some (are) just making a name for themselves,” Deveraux said. Iya is always making sure that community talent is showcased at all of our functions.”
In company with Pride on Saturday, Baltimore Safe Haven will be opening its new building on Friday from 1-4 p.m.
“That is sort of going to be the prelude to pride,” Lau said. “Thanks to Sen. Mary Washington and the Weinberg Foundation, we were able to purchase the building outright, and it’s going to be a community hub of administrative buildings and 12-bedroom apartments.”
Renee Lau, administrative assistant for special projects coordinator for Baltimore Safe Haven, said the planning process for Baltimore Trans Pride began in January, and putting it all together was a collaboration of multiple city agencies and organizations.
“Safe Haven is an LGBT community organization, but we service the entire community, and that’s the message we try to spread,” Lau said. “We’re not just here for the LGBT community. We’re here to spread goodwill and offer harm reduction and housing to the entire community.”
Lau said the organization’s biggest goal for the event is to gain exposure.
“(We want) to let and let people know who we are and what our community is about,” she said. “Right now, because of what’s happening in DC, there’s a lot of bad untruths going on, and the total thing is bringing out the truth.”
Deveraux said having a place of inclusivity, acceptance, and togetherness is important in today’s political climate and the current administration.
“This event will have people seeing the strength and resilience of the transgender community, showing that no matter what we are going through, we still show up,” Deveraux said. “We are here, we will not be erased.”
The 2025 WorldPride Parade was held in Washington, D.C. on Saturday, June 7. Laverne Cox and Renée Rapp were the grand marshals.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key and Robert Rapanut)
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