President Biden Signs Same-Sex Marriage Bill Into Law

President Joe Biden signed 'The Respect for Marriage Act,' which includes new federal protections for same-sex and interracial couples, into law during a ceremony on the White House South Lawn Tuesday (December 13) afternoon.

“Marriage is a simple proposition. Who do you love? And will you be loyal to that person you love?” Biden said via CNN. “It’s not more complicated than that.” 

Biden stated, just prior to signing the legislation, that the new law would recognizes that “everyone should have the right to answer those questions for themselves without the government interference,” and ensure federal "protections that come with marriage" for all couples.

“For most of our nation’s history, we denied interracial couples and same sex couples from these protections,” Biden added via CNN. “It failed to treat them with equal dignity and respect. And now, this law requires an interracial marriage and same-sex marriage must be recognized as legal in every state in the nation.” 

The newly signed law will void the Defense of Marriage Act, which had defined marriage solely as being between a man and a woman and mandate that all U.S. states must honor all out-of-state marriage licenses, which include same-sex and interracial unions as valid.

First Lady Jill Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband Doug Emhoff and several lawmakers from both parties joined President Biden at the ceremony, which included performances by Sam Smith and Cyndi Lauper.