‘A step in the right direction:’ Wilmington LGBTQ community reacts to passage of Respect for Marriage Act
WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — The U.S. House of Representatives voted to protect interracial and same-sex marriage on Thursday by passing the Respect for Marriage Act.
The passage of the act means all states must recognize same-sex and interracial marriages. NC Senators Thom Tillis and Richard Burr voted for in the bill. All North Carolina democrats in congress voted in support of the bill as well, and all NC republicans in congress voted against the bill.
“There are people at all sorts of levels of our government that don’t fully support my right to exist and be recognized as a citizen and I’m aware of that every day. LGBTQ folks are aware of that every day. I think that’s part of the reason why our suicide rates are much higher than the rest of the population,” LGBTQ Center of the Cape Fear Coast Executive Director Caroline Morin said. “At the end of the day, those people represent me politically, but not personally or morally and at the end of the journey we’re taking through all of the human time I think that those folks will be shown to be on the wrong side.”
While the bill requires states to recognize same-sex and interracial marriages, it does not protect the right to marriage if the supreme court were to overturn Obergefell v. Hodges or Loving v. Virginia.
“There are still other areas of life like employment and housing where LGBTQ people aren’t protected. This is definitely a victory. I’m excited, I think the community is excited, but for us, this is just one piece in a puzzle of a larger problem of us not being treated with equal dignity,” Morin said. “It is a reminder still that LGBTQ people are not treated equally in our society, that we have to have our rights decided by our government but it’s a good step in our government but it’s a good step in the right direction for sure.”
“At least at this point, they have to recognize my marriage and the marriage of anybody that I am able to bless,” Church of the Servant Reverend Jody Greenwood said.
In 2012, Greenwood drove to New York from Atlanta to marry her wife, Alice. Fast forward to now, Greenwood officiates marriages to help make sure couples like them don’t have to make a similar journey.
“There are things that are just basic human rights. The ability to be in a committed relationship and to have it honored and recognized universally is one of those things,” Greenwood said.
The Respect for Marriage Act is now headed to President Joe Biden’s desk. He is expected to sign it into law.
