For freedom and family, my fellow Republicans should pass law to protect same-sex marriage

This year, my wife Nancy and I celebrated our 22nd wedding anniversary. No one in life has given me more joy, more of a sense of wholeness than Nancy. Over time, we have become two parts of one person, accepting each other’s weaknesses and admiring each other’s strengths. Decades of commitment have brought two amazing daughters and immeasurable happiness.

For much of my life here in Kentucky, I thought this was the path – boy meets girl, they fall in love, they marry and raise a family. While I knew committed couples consisting of two men or two women, I thought that marriage should maintain its traditional definition – between man and woman.

But I was wrong.

However controversial same-sex marriage had once been in our country, today the great majority of Americans support the equal claim of gay and lesbian couples to the pursuit of happiness by ways best suited for attaining happiness — by building lives and raising families together, by loving and being loved in return for life. Our laws should respect those relationships as it does any other loving, committed relationship.

The number of Americans who would deny their fellow citizens that happiness grows smaller each year. Over 70 percent of Americans now support marriage equality, including majorities in both parties. Most Americans view same-sex marriages as they view marriage in general – as the foundation for lasting relationships, strong families, and values deeply rooted in our history and culture. Put simply, the issue of marriage equality is settled in American society.

Regrettably, the same cannot be said with regard to the law. Not yet anyway.

While the question of marriage for gay and lesbian couples was settled by the Supreme Court in 2015, legal experts are concerned that the freedom to marry could now be threatened by Court rulings. Understandably, that worries the more than one million gay and lesbian Americans who have entered into legal marriages.

While other justices offered assurances that Dobbs did not pertain to other decisions, a concurring opinion called for the Court to reexamine past cases such as Obergefell. This will undoubtedly resonate with some of the same governors, states attorneys general, and lawmakers who have long opposed marriage equality. We will almost certainly see new judicial challenges to same-sex marriages, and I would rather not rely on past assurances that the precedent established by Obergefell is sufficient to ensure that marriage equality will remain the law of the land.

Congress must act to protect gay and lesbian couples from the threat that their marriages could be de-legitimized. The Respect for Marriage Act was introduced in Congress to do just that – to reaffirm the legality of same-sex marriages and protect them from future court reversals. I was proud to see it swiftly pass the U.S. House of Representatives with a strong, bipartisan vote that included the support of 47 Republicans. It’s now up to the U.S. Senate to follow their lead.

In recent weeks, opponents of this bill, have elevated some concerns about protections for religious faith. These should be acknowledged – and perhaps clarifying language can be added by the Senate – but it’s also important to note that the Respect for Marriage Act will not alter existing rights, especially religious liberty, which will remain firmly protected by the Constitution and by the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. It won’t undermine anyone’s right to refrain from participating in weddings or endorsing marriages due to reservations based in religious convictions.

It would only, but very importantly, codify the freedom to marry under federal law for same-sex couples and leave personal judgments about the morality of their marriages to their fellow Americans’ individual consciences and convictions.

I urge my fellow Republicans to stand for the traditional principles so clearly espoused by our party — personal freedom and strong families — and act swiftly to protect loving American couples and the families they raise from unequal justice under law.

Trey Grayson served as Kentucky Secretary of State (2004-2011) and is currently a member of the law firm Frost Brown Todd.

This story was originally published September 14, 2022 at 9:09 AM.