Rep. Payne, Jr. Votes to Protect Marriage Rights for All Americans

Statement

Rep. Donald M. Payne, Jr. voted for a bill today to protect the right to marry for all Americans regardless of sexual preference or racial identity. The bill, the Respect for Marriage Act of 2022 (H.R. 8404), would establish a federal law that declares a marriage is valid nationwide if it was valid in the state in which it occurred. In addition, it provides the U.S. Attorney General with the authority to pursue enforcement actions for violations of this provision and allows individuals harmed by a violation to pursue their own actions.

"Americans should have the right to marry the people they love without discrimination," said Rep. Donald M. Payne, Jr. "While I thought this issue was settled, I am proud to work to make it a federal law that cannot be denied by individual states. It appears that certain people in this country want to remove many rights that all Americans have worked to gain. But this bill, like many others that Congress has passed recently to protect the rights of Americans, will create protections for marriage equality that would be difficult to overturn."

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