NAACP Celebrates President Biden's Signing of the Respect for Marriage Act

It is hard to believe that 55 years after the landmark Supreme Court decision in Loving v. Virginia to legalize interracial marriage, we have finally codified into law the basic human right to love freely. We celebrate the signing of the Respect for Marriage Act as a major victory for equality in America. This crucial law ensures federal recognition of same-sex and interracial marriages, guaranteeing all rights and benefits afforded through marriage, and finally repeals the discriminatory Defense of Marriage Act.

This is a hopeful way to end this year in which our fundamental rights have been attacked by countless states and stripped away by our nation's highest court. We applaud our leaders in Congress for providing a bipartisan path forward on this issue and moving our country another step closer to true equality.