Thread by @RHolcombeVT

1/ Marriage equality was a hard earned victory for #LGTBQ Americans, won in the courts, not the halls of our legislative bodies. The #SCOTUS decision in Obergefell finally gave same-sex couples in all 50 states the right to full, equal recognition under the law.

2/ The decision gave #LGTBQ people not just the right to publicly bond themselves to the people they love, but also the protections & economic stability that come with marriage, from being with your loved one in the hospital, to rights of parentage, to family health care plans.

3/ The current, radical SCOTUS has been systematically eroding fundamental rights, effectively stripping some Americans of their freedom and of the full benefits of citizenship. They did this with Dodds and Carson, and now are poised to undo Obergefell.

4/ Rights are not rights if you have to fight for them. None of us are truly free when we live in a nation that allows a panel of unrepresentative justices to strip away established law and basic protections on which so many count.

5/ The #RespectforMarriageAct is a good beginning. It repeals an existing, bigoted federal stature. It sets the table for protecting civil rights, by requiring the Federal government to recognize any marriage that was “valid in the place where entered into.”

6/ More than 1,000 federal laws grant rights & privileges to married couples. If Obergefell is undone, the #RespectforMarriageAct ensures people in same-sex marriages have the same rights $ privileges as people in heterosexual marriages, including rights of parenthood. #vtpoli

7) That is a good thing.
And, it is just a start, as those who have been watching the fallout from the Dodds and Carson decisions know.

8/ The Act requires that every state recognize a valid same-sex marriage.
Of course, that is different from requiring all states to license same-sex marriages.
hrc.org/press-releases…

9/ However, the act was written this way for a reason, and because of this #SCOTUS. We should celebrate it, as this may be the best we can do at this time, and it is an important commitment to equal treatment under the law.
slate.com/news-and-polit…

10. (Note: This act also protects rights and privileges in interracial marriages by the way, since legal protections in same-sex marriages are rooted in the same constitutional principles as protections for interracial marriages.)

11/ This act has limits. Some states won't recognize same sex marriage (think TX). People there could travel to other states to marry and then be eligible for federal rights and privileges.

12/ The #RespectforMarriageAct is a good beginning. It repeals an existing, bigoted federal stature. It sets the table for protecting civil rights, by requiring the Federal government to recognize any marriage that was “valid in the place where entered into.”

13/ However, this burden to travel is a burden that will not be carried equally, and poses the greatest challenge to less wealthy citizens or people who can't travel for other reasons.

14/ The passage of the #RespectforMarriageAct is an important commitment to fairness and freedom to love and live. It is also yet another opportunity to recognize how fragile justice is in the face of a radicalized court. #vtpoli

15/ I’m grateful for this Act and to those who supported it. This act is a reminder to exercise our responsibility to stand with and protect those whose fundamental dignity and rights this court would strip.