Richmond, Va. (Newsradiowrva.com) - Senator Tim Kaine spoke on Wednesday about his excitement about the senate's passing of the respect for marriage act, which requires all localities to recognize legal same-sex marriages. the bipartisan bill was passed largely in response to concerns that the supreme court may attempt to overturn Obergefell v. Hodges, the 2015 decision which protected same-sex marriage across the country. Kaine spoke of his disappointment in some of Virginia's historical decisions regarding same-sex marriage, calling them "a stain" on the state's constitution.
Senator Kaine said that, after the supreme court's Dobbs decision, it would have been "professional malpractice" for congress not to act in protection of same-sex marriage. if Obergefell were to be struck down, the respect for marriage act would not make the prohibition of same-sex marriage illegal; it would, however, require all states to recognize all marriages held in locations where it remains legal.
