Joe Biden Signs Historic Marriage Equality Bill; The White House celebrates with Cyndi Lauper, Sam Smith and ‘Born This Way’ update

The White House called out prominent activists again as it marked another legislative milestone: Cyndi Lauper appeared and spoke briefly to reporters Tuesday as President Joe Biden signed legislation designed to protect same-sex and interracial marriage rights at the federal level .

“I came here today because I wanted to thank President Biden, Speaker Pelosi, Vice President Harris and all of his team’s advocates,” Lauper told reporters during a surprise appearance in the White House briefing room. “Because our families – mine and many of my friends, people you know, sometimes your neighbors – can sleep peacefully for once, because our families are affirmed, because we love who we love, what after a strange statement sounds like, but Americans can now love who we love Bless Joe Biden and all the people who worked to make sure people don’t have to worry about their future.

The Respect for Marriage Act will ensure that same-sex marriage rights are protected at the federal level. The law was passed with bipartisan support amid fears that it would overturn previous Supreme Court precedent.

Lauper later performed “True Colors” at a South Lawn ceremony, along with Sam Smith who sang “Stay With Me.” Last fall, the White House tapped James Taylor to speak at an event marking the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act.

The ceremony was broadcast by CNN and MSNBC, but not by Fox News.

With the pillars of the south portico bathed in rainbow colors, Biden said the bill is “a necessary step toward equality, toward freedom and justice, not just for some, but for all.”

“There is nothing more decent, more dignified, more American than what we are doing here today,” Biden said. He also noted that final approval of the bill in the House of Representatives last week came on the same day that Brittney Griner was released from Russian custody. Cherelle Griner, her wife, said, “Today my family has recovered.”

As he signed the bill, Biden was surrounded by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Vice President Kamala Harris, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, and Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), who helped collect. enough Republican votes to overcome a filibuster. Also on the scene was Transport Minister Pete Buttigieg, the first openly gay official to be confirmed in a cabinet post.

Around 3,000 people gathered for the ceremony, with temperatures in the 1930s but entertained with disco tunes from the likes of ABBA and the Bee Gees. After Biden signed the bill and Harris handed over his pen, Lada Gaga’s “Born This Way” blared from the giant speakers.

Before Biden took the stage, the audience heard his words from a 2012 performance Meet the presss, declared his support for marriage equality and became one of the most prominent government officials to do so. Biden, then vice president, overruled President Barack Obama’s own plans to do so later that year. But Biden showed his support days earlier, meeting with LGBT donors and activists at the home of HBO’s Michael Lombardo and Sonny Ward.

“I got in trouble,” Biden joked.

On the South Portico steps during the ceremony, plaintiffs who have prosecuted marriage equality cases over the years, including Paul Katami and Jeff Zarrillo and Sandy Stier and Kris Perry, the two couples who created California’s Proposition 8, the 2008, successfully challenged and immediately banished. Sex marriages in the state. The fight for marriage equality culminated in the 2015 Supreme Court decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, which recognizes the right to same-sex marriage nationwide. The prosecutor in that case, Jim Obergefell, did not attend the White House ceremony, but Biden recalled speaking with him on the day of the Supreme Court ruling.

The impetus for the legislation came from the unanimous opinion of Justice Clarence Thomas in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Supreme Court decision that paved the way for states to pass legislation banning abortion. Thomas suggested that the reasoning behind Roe vs. Wade’s overturning can be applied to other precedents, including same-sex marriage and birth control.

If the Supreme Court, with its conservative 6-to-3 majority, overturns Obergefell, states can still restrict same-sex marriage. But by signing the Respect for Marriage Act, they must recognize marriages contracted in states where it is legal. The federal government will also recognize marriage laws for same-sex couples.

Among those in attendance: Chad Griffin, the former president of the Human Rights Campaign, who headed the Hollywood-funded group that orchestrated the legal challenge to Proposition 8. Longtime activist David Mixner shook Biden’s hand after he signed the law. Don Lemon appeared on CNN with fiance Tim Malone telling Jake Tapper: “It’s a really good spirit and vibe right now.” He said they had until December 18 to get married or their license would expire and they would have to queue for a new one.

Biden and others have signaled that more needs to be done, including passing the Equality Act that would ban discrimination based on sex, sexual orientation and gender identity in areas such as employment and public housing. The House of Representatives passed the bill last year, but stalled in the Senate. The outlook for the next Congress is bleak as Republicans hold a slim majority in the House of Representatives and transgender equality is targeted by the right.

Robyn Ochs, who served on the Massachusetts board of directors for MassEquality, said the Respect for Marriage Act “is not the end of the battle because we still don’t have full protection.”

She noted that it was part of “this very long stretch where we’ve had the same fight for a long time. But it’s a big step forward at a time when we’re under attack, so it feels really good.”