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After decades of inaction and months or back-and-forths between the House and Senate, lawmakers finally sent a bill to the president’s desk on Thursday that would, for the first time ever, codify national same-sex marriage rights into law.
The House passed a final version of the same-sex marriage bill 258-169, with all Democrats and 39 House Republicans voting in favor of the legislation. One Republican, Rep. Burgess Owens (R-UT), also voted present.
Before this summer, same-sex marriage wasn’t really on Conrgess’ radar. But after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in a decision that sent shockwaves across the nation, things changed. Many pointed out how Justice Clarence Thomas seemed to be targeting other rights, like gay marriage, in his abortion opinion. With Democrats unable to cobble together the numbers to codify abortion rights, they moved on to protecting same-sex marriage. And they were met with some surprising levels of support—at least at first.