Same-sex marriage: US President Joe Biden signs off on law at White House ceremony

In a significant move, US President Joe Biden signed a same-sex marriage legislation into law at a major ceremony at the White House on 13 December 2022. Biden said that it was a blow against hate in all its forms.

Lawmakers from the ruling Democratic party, as well as Opposition Republican party were present.

The law marks a compromise between same-sex marriage rights and conservative concerns. Churches can still refuse to perform same-sex marriages, and states will not be required to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. But they will be required to recognize marriages conducted elsewhere in the country.

The signing marks the culmination of a monthslong bipartisan effort sparked by the Supreme Court's decision in June to overturn Roe v. Wade, the 1973 ruling that made abortion available across the country.

In a concurring opinion in the case that overturned Roe, Justice Clarence Thomas suggested revisiting other decisions, including the legalization of gay marriage, generating fear that more rights could be imperilled by the court's conservative majority. Thomas did not reference interracial marriage with the other cases he said should be reconsidered.

(With agency inputs)

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