House PASSES bill to protect same-sex marriage nationwide trends now BREAKING NEWS: House PASSES bill to protect same-sex marriage nationwide The final version of Respect for Marriage Act codifying same-sex marriage into law passed the House on Thursday morning The legislation will now go to President Joe Biden's desk for signature By Katelyn Caralle, U.S. Political Reporter For Dailymail.com Published: 16:21 GMT, 8 December 2022 | Updated: 16:22 GMT, 8 December 2022 Viewcomments The House passed legislation Thursday morning that will ensure federal recognition of same-sex marriage with a 258-169 vote. Only 39 Republicans in the lower chamber joined all 219 Democratic members in voting to pass the bill. One Republican representative voted 'present', meaning they are declining to issue a 'yay' or 'nay', and four were marked as 'no votes.' President Joe Biden will now receive the final version of the legislation for its signature into law. When announcing that the bill passed the House, outgoing Speaker Nancy Pelosi appeared to get choked up and struggled to gather her words. 'I was emotional, I'm sorry,' she said after banging the gavel several times on the desk. The Respect for Marriage Act won Senate approval last month and with a 61-36 vote and was passed back down to the House to adopt the changes they made to the bill. While 12 Republicans joined 49 Democrats in supporting the bill, most of the upper chamber's GOP members voted against the legislation. The final version of Respect for Marriage Act codifying same-sex marriage into law passed the House on Thursday morning and will go to President Joe Biden's desk for signature The measure came to fruition out of concern by mostly Democrats that the 6-3 conservative majority Supreme Court could reverse protections for same-sex couples to legally marry after it overturned the landmark Roe v. Wade decision that protected abortion at the federal level. The Roe v. Wade ruling led to calls from activists to codify into federal law same-sex marriage. The legislation, written by a bipartisan group of lawmakers, is designed to act as a backstop for the 2015 Supreme Court decision that legalized same-sex marriage in the Obergefell v. Hodges case. It allows federal government and states to recognize same-sex and interracial marriages as long as they were legal in the states where they were performed. The bill would not, however, bar states from blocking same-sex or interracial marriages in the future if the Supreme Court rules they can do so. The bill also makes concessions for religious groups and institutions that do not support same-sex marriages. Share or comment on this article: All rights reserved for this news site (dailymail) and under his responsibility