In a politically wise move this week, Democrats in the House voted to pass the “Respect for Marriage Act,” which would defend same-sex marriage from the whims of a right-wing Supreme Court bloc that has no respect for legal precedent. By forcing votes on this bill, they also revealed how the Republican Party has shifted on the issue of marriage equality, for better and for worse, since the anti-gay Defense of Marriage Act of 1996. (The new bill would overturn DOMA.) The Christian Right has a lot of power over the GOP, but on the issue of same-sex marriage, this bill shows they’re losing their grip.

The current bill isn’t controversial. If passed, all it would do is require all states to respect the marriage laws of other states (as they already do with straight couples). So a gay couple married in New York would still be considered legally married in Alabama even if the Supreme Court overturned Obergefell, left marriage rules to the states, and a Republican legislature decided to ban same-sex marriage. The same bill would also protect interracial marriage the same way.

Since President Joe Biden has already promised to sign the bill, the only question now is whether 10 Republicans in the Senate will support it in order to override a filibuster. ...