[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 1209 Introduced in House (IH)]
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116th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. RES. 1209
Expressing support for Supreme Court decisions affirming the
constitutionally protected right of same-sex couples to marry.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
October 30, 2020
Mr. Pappas (for himself, Ms. Craig, Mr. Takano, Mr. Sean Patrick
Maloney of New York, Mr. Cicilline, Mr. Carson of Indiana, Mr. Higgins
of New York, Ms. Titus, Mr. Lynch, Mr. Cooper, Ms. Garcia of Texas,
Mrs. Napolitano, Ms. Davids of Kansas, Mr. Payne, Ms. Norton, Mr.
Meeks, Mrs. Murphy of Florida, Ms. Wasserman Schultz, Ms. Kelly of
Illinois, Mr. Deutch, Mr. Beyer, Mr. Cox of California, Ms. Lee of
California, Mr. Pocan, Ms. McCollum, Ms. Schakowsky, Mr. Nadler, Mr.
Rose of New York, Mr. Cuellar, Mr. Kilmer, Mr. Raskin, Mr. Trone, Ms.
Clark of Massachusetts, Ms. Meng, Mr. Panetta, Mrs. Trahan, Mr. Larsen
of Washington, Mr. Casten of Illinois, Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Hastings, Mr.
Larson of Connecticut, Mr. Schiff, Mr. Grijalva, Ms. Roybal-Allard, Mr.
Cisneros, Ms. Clarke of New York, Mr. Smith of Washington, Mr. Rouda,
Mr. DeSaulnier, Ms. Kaptur, Mr. Danny K. Davis of Illinois, Mrs.
Lawrence, Ms. Shalala, Mr. Welch, Mr. Espaillat, Mr. Levin of Michigan,
Mrs. Watson Coleman, Ms. Kuster of New Hampshire, Mr. Quigley, Mr.
Brown of Maryland, Mr. Cardenas, Mrs. Davis of California, Ms. DelBene,
Ms. Pressley, Mr. Khanna, Ms. Judy Chu of California, Mr. Kim, Mr.
McEachin, Mrs. Demings, Mr. Sires, Ms. Wexton, Mr. Soto, Ms. Wild, Ms.
Dean, Mrs. Lee of Nevada, Ms. Johnson of Texas, Ms. Jayapal, Mr.
Horsford, Mr. Evans, Mr. Kildee, Mr. McGovern, Mr. Pallone, Ms. Eshoo,
Mr. Neguse, Ms. Sanchez, Mr. Castro of Texas, Mr. Carbajal, Mr. Lawson
of Florida, Mr. DeFazio, Ms. Adams, Mr. Sarbanes, Mr. Peters, Ms.
Pingree, Ms. Mucarsel-Powell, Mr. Lowenthal, Mr. Foster, Mrs. Hayes,
Ms. Haaland, Mr. Correa, Mr. Yarmuth, Mr. Langevin, Mr. David Scott of
Georgia, Ms. Houlahan, Mr. Gottheimer, Ms. Underwood, Mr. Blumenauer,
Ms. Bonamici, Mr. Bera, Mr. Doggett, Mr. Stanton, Mr. Case, Mrs.
Carolyn B. Maloney of New York, Ms. DeGette, Ms. Escobar, Mr. Suozzi,
Mr. Moulton, and Mr. Ted Lieu of California) submitted the following
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Expressing support for Supreme Court decisions affirming the
constitutionally protected right of same-sex couples to marry.
Whereas, on June 26, 2013, the Supreme Court held in Windsor v. United States
that the so-called Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutionally deprived
same-sex couples of the liberty protected by the Fifth Amendment;
Whereas pursuant to the Windsor ruling, same-sex couples cannot be deprived of
Federal benefits and protections provided by the Government to married
couples in a wide array of areas;
Whereas Supreme Court Justice Ginsburg recognized that Federal marital benefits
affect every area of life, and that denying them to married same-sex
couples created, in effect, a ``sort of skim milk marriage'';
Whereas married same-sex couples have accessed and relied upon these equal
benefits, including some funded generally by all program participants,
such as Social Security survivor benefits, and many that can provide an
essential economic lifeline, such as retirement benefits and veteran and
military benefits, as well as inheritance benefits and other Federal tax
benefits;
Whereas, on June 26, 2015, the Supreme Court held in Obergefell v. Hodges that
States may not deprive same-sex couples of the constitutionally
protected freedom to marry;
Whereas the Supreme Court confirmed in Obergefell v. Hodges that ``the
Constitution promises liberty to all within its reach, a liberty that
allows persons, within a lawful realm, to define and express their
identity'';
Whereas, on June 27, 2017, the Supreme Court confirmed in Pavan v. Smith that it
is unconstitutional to deny same-sex couples the benefits and
responsibilities of marriage that are provided to different-sex couples;
Whereas the Census Bureau has estimated there are approximately 543,000 same-sex
married-couple households in the United States and almost 500,000
households with same-sex unmarried partners living together;
Whereas there are an estimated 114,000 same-sex couples raising children in the
United States;
Whereas same-sex couples are seven times more likely than different-sex couples
to be raising an adopted or foster child;
Whereas same-sex couples may not be deprived of the right to marry and the
protections and responsibilities of marriages in 29 other countries;
Whereas the European Court of Justice requires that all European Union countries
recognize same-sex couples' marriages for immigration purposes;
Whereas, on October 5, 2020, Supreme Court Justice Thomas issued a Statement,
with which Justice Alito joined, concerning the Court's denial of a
petition for a writ of certiorari in Kim Davis v. David Ermold;
Whereas the Statement improperly invites legal challenges to the Supreme Court's
important Obergefell precedent by announcing the Justices are seeking to
grant review of a case that ``cleanly'' challenges that precedent in
order to address what they characterize as a ``problem that only it can
fix'';
Whereas the Statement incorrectly asserts the Obergefell v. Hodges decision
brands religious adherents as ``bigots'';
Whereas the Statement wrongfully frames marriage equality for same-sex couples
and religious liberty interests as mutually exclusive;
Whereas marriage equality for same-sex couples does not impinge upon the rights
of clergy or religious institutions by forcing them to solemnize the
marriages of same-sex couples, just as they are free not to solemnize
the marriages of couples of different faith traditions;
Whereas although the rulings in Windsor v. United States, Obergefell v. Hodges,
and Pavan v. Smith are Supreme Court precedents preventing the Federal
and all State governments from marriage-related discrimination against
same-sex couples, Federal legislation is needed to prevent
discrimination against same-sex couples and LGBTQ individuals in the
private sector;
Whereas, on May 17, 2019, the House of Representatives passed the Equality Act
in a bipartisan vote; and
Whereas, on May 20, 2019, the Senate received the Equality Act for consideration
and has not acted on the bill: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) strongly opposes Justice Thomas and Justice Alito's
Statement in Davis v. Ermold;
(2) acknowledges that same-sex couples have relied and are
relying upon the Supreme Court precedent in United States v.
Windsor, Obergefell v. Hodges, and Pavan v. Smith, and other
cases upholding the protections of same-sex couples;
(3) recognizes that all Americans should be treated fairly
and equally regardless of sexual orientation or gender
identity; and
(4) acknowledges the need for express legislation
prohibiting discrimination against LGBTQ people.
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