Jim Obergefell, the Ohio man whose fight to appear on his husband’s death certificate led to the legalisation of same-sex marriage across the United States, says the bill senators voted 61-36 to approve on Tuesday that would codify some marriage rights into law isn’t truly a victory for the LGBT+ community because it would let states refuse to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
The Senate, bill which 61 senators – including 12 Republicans – approved after weeks of negotiations would repeal the Clinton-era Defense of Marriage Act and require states to give full recognition to same-sex couples with valid marriage licenses from any state, but unlike the current state of US law after the court legalised same-sex marriage, it would not require states to issue such licenses.
