Supporters praise passage of Respect for Marriage Act

EDITOR'S NOTE: A correction was made Dec. 19, 2022, in the description of the Supreme Court's ruling on Roe v. Wade in June.

PROVINCETOWN — The words, “thrilled,” “relieved,” and “grateful” were used by some Cape Codders to express their reaction to the passage of the Respect for Marriage Act by the U.S. Congress on Thursday.

The Respect for Marriage Act repeals the Defense of Marriage Act signed into law in 1996, which defined marriage as only between a man and woman and declared no state would be required to recognize same-sex marriages performed in another state.

The Respect for Marriage Act guarantees federal recognition of any marriage between two people if it was valid in the state where they were married. It requires states to accept the legitimacy of a valid marriage performed elsewhere. It does not require a state to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

Gloria Bailey-Davies said she and her wife, Linda, were worried after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June, eliminating the constitutional right to an abortion. In the decision, Justice Clarence Thomas wrote about reviewing the June 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges decision that invalidated bans against same-sex marriage in 35 states.

The Roe and Obergefell decisions were based on the right to privacy implied in the 14th Amendment.

Bailey-Davies was concerned that the current conservative Supreme Court would overturn the right to same-sex marriages and those state bans would return.

“What it means for us is our marriage is protected,” she said.

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The women married on May 17, 2004, the first day same-sex marriage became legal in Massachusetts. They have been together for 52 years, Bailey-Davies said.

“We're older,” she said. “Our concerns have more to do with the vulnerabilities we would feel if we weren’t married, about health care and finances.”

Marital deductions, next-of-kin rights in health matters, even being able to live together in a nursing home should it come to that, those are the things of most concern to them, said Bailey-Davies.

Laura Denman-Magden and Lisa Magnarelli-Magden said the decision was especially important as the parents of three children. The Martha’s Vineyard residents married in 2005, more than 10 years after they met.

“Having to get legal documents and second parent options was a little scary,” Magnarelli-Magden said.

“I got scared about when Clarence Thomas made that comment that we might have to look at Obergefell,” Denman-Magden said. “It was like he couldn’t extrapolate.”

The Obergefell decision ruled that marriage was a constitutional right guaranteed by the equal protection clauses of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The same reasoning — that marriage was a constitutional right — was behind the 1967 Supreme Court’s decision that overturned state laws banning interracial marriages.

State Rep. Sarah Peake said she was thrilled with the Respect for Marriage Act's passage, calling it a preemptive action to protect her marriage from the whim of the U.S. Supreme Court.

“I’m thankful that the U.S. Congress stood up to take this action,” she said, adding that its passage gave her a great sense of relief and gratitude.

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For Bailey-Davies, it means she and her wife are no different than any other loving, committed couple.

“The right-wing doesn’t, but 70% of the country now agrees that gay marriage is like any other marriage except you’re marrying someone of the same sex,” she said. “It means so much to us emotionally.”

The act passed the House and Senate with bipartisan support and heads to President Biden’s desk for signature. The president has said he would sign the bill.

Contact Denise Coffey at dcoffey@capecodonline.com. Follow her on Twitter: @DeniseCoffeyCCT.

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This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Cape, Martha's Vineyard same-sex couple praise Respect for Marriage Act