John –

Today the U.S. House of Representatives voted in favor of the ‘Respect for Marriage Act,’ a major step toward protecting the rights of married couples who could face future threats from discriminatory forces eager to overturn U.S. Supreme Court precedent on the freedom to marry for same-sex couples and interracial couples. 

There is a unique need for this federal law in the South. For the one-third of LGBTQ Americans who live in the South, the Respect for Marriage Act is vital legislation. All LGBTQ Southerners live in a state with laws prohibiting the freedom to marry – laws that are unenforceable because of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Obergefell ruling. Extreme anti-LGBTQ forces are working at every level to erode LGBTQ equality, and if they prevail in having Obergefell revisited or overturned, these families and marriages would be at risk. We need to be doing everything we can to protect LGBTQ equality in this unprecedented era of attack – and now, the Senate should follow the lead of the House by passing the Respect for Marriage Act.

Can you join us in urging the U.S. Senate to take action? Click here and rush a message to your Senators urging them to vote YES on the Respect for Marriage Act. 

The reversal of the freedom to marry is not a hypothetical scenario: Every year lawmakers at every level of government try to diminish same-sex couples’ marriage rights and infringe on many other LGBTQ liberties, despite the fact that a supermajority of Americans support marriage equality.

Now it’s up to all of us, from our members of Congress to state lawmakers to local communities, to band together and prepare for the work ahead so we can live in a country where your zip code doesn’t determine your rights.

Please take action by urging your Senators to do the right thing and vote in favor of the Respect for Marriage Act. 

Thank you,
Jasmine Beach-Ferrara
She/Her
Executive Director
Campaign for Southern Equality