[5] On June 26, 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Obergefell v. Hodges that the Fourteenth Amendment requires all U.S. states to recognize same-sex marriages.

[6] This decision rendered the last remaining provision of DOMA unenforceable and essentially made same-sex marriage de facto federal law.

The future of same-sex marriage in the United States was put back into question in 2022, when a concurring opinion by Justice Clarence Thomas in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization argued the Court "should reconsider" the Obergefell decision.

[12] Senator Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin announced on November 14, 2022, that a bipartisan deal had been struck, and that they expected the legislation to reach 60 votes to break the filibuster.

[18][19] The final version of the bill divided American religious groups morally opposed to same-sex marriage;[20] it was supported by some as a suitable compromise between the rights of LGBTQ couples and religious liberty,[21] a position that was taken by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,[22] but was prominently opposed by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and the Southern Baptist Convention due to their views on sexual ethics.

[23][24] Prior to the Supreme Court's 1967 ruling in Loving, anti-miscegenation laws were still in force in 16 states, all prohibiting interracial marriage.

In June 2022, the Court ruled in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization that the Constitution does not confer the right to an abortion, overturning the 50-year-old precedent of Roe v. Wade.

Writing for the majority, Samuel Alito stated that fears that the same arguments that overturned Roe might also touch upon "matters such as intimate sexual relations, contraception, and marriage" were "unfounded".

[29][30] In response, in July 2022 the House passed bills aimed to protect rights that Thomas had mentioned, with the Respect for Marriage Act specifically ensuring that the right to same-sex and interracial marriages would remain part of federal statute law even if the Court ruled at some future date that they were not constitutionally guaranteed.

[32] RFMA replaced this portion of DOMA with a statement that the Full Faith and Credit Clause requires interstate recognition of same-sex marriages.

Lynn Wardle wrote that it "is substantively biased to circumvent state policies that do not allow or recognize same-sex marriage" and "a violation of federalism".

[42][43] On July 20, 2011, Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont chaired the first-ever congressional hearing on a proposal to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).

[47] During the debate Sen. Feinstein noted that DOMA denies same-sex couples more than 1,100 federal rights and benefits that are provided to all other members of that class, legally married couples, including rights to Social Security spousal benefits, protection from estate taxes when a spouse passes away, and the ability to file taxes jointly and claim certain deductions.

[51] The aforementioned lawmakers Representative Jerrold Nadler of New York and Senator Dianne Feinstein of California reintroduced the legislation on the first day of the 114th Congress.

[5] Section 2 of DOMA, the last substantive provision of that act remaining viable after United States v. Windsor, was rendered obsolete in Obergefell v. Hodges in June 2015.

The Supreme Court ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization in June 2022 overturned Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey.

[56] On November 14, 2022, a group of bipartisan senators, including Rob Portman (R-OH), Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), and Susan Collins (R-ME) announced they had reached an amendment compromise to include language for religious protections and clarify that the bill did not legalize polygamous marriage.

[57] The amendment specifies that nonprofit religious organizations will not be required to provide services for the solemnization or celebration of a same-sex marriage.

[60] All 50 Democratic senators and 12 Republicans (Roy Blunt, Richard Burr, Shelley Moore Capito, Susan Collins, Joni Ernst, Cynthia Lummis, Lisa Murkowski, Rob Portman, Mitt Romney, Dan Sullivan, Thom Tillis, and Todd Young) voted in favor of advancing the bill.

[62] On December 13, 2022, Biden signed the Respect for Marriage Act into law in a ceremony that was held on the White House lawn.

[2] Pelosi, Schumer, Harris, and Biden all spoke at the event, which also featured performances by the Gay Men's Chorus of Washington, D.C., as well as musicians Sam Smith and Cyndi Lauper.

A September 2022 Grinnell College National Poll found that 74% of Americans believe same-sex marriage should be a guaranteed right while 13% disagreed and 13% were uncertain.

[78] Cause for concern was also that some politicians, like Senator Mike Braun, had seemingly started to call into question the Loving v. Virginia decision.

Florida Republican Mario Díaz-Balart was quoted on his opinion of the bill: "My record shows that I am a long-standing advocate against discrimination of all types.

[20] It was supported by some, such as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,[21] as a suitable compromise between the rights of LGBT couples and religious liberty, while it was prominently opposed by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and the Southern Baptist Convention due to their views on sexuality.

[92] Activists and scholars highlight some important limitations of the bill, such as the Act not requiring nonprofit religious organizations "to provide services, accommodations, advantages, facilities, goods, or privileges for the solemnization or celebration of a marriage.

"[93] At the same time, activists acknowledge that the bipartisan support of the bill is noteworthy,[32] and that it shows a significant change in public opinion that is reflected in the actions of government representatives.