The US Senate Tuesday passed a bill to federally protect same-sex marriage in a bipartisan vote of 61-36 . The bill’s supporters included 49 Democrat senators and 12 Republicans. The Respect for Marriage Act “provides statutory authority for same-sex and interracial marriages” and repeals and replaces the federal definition of marriage with “provisions that recognize any marriage that is valid under state law.”

Additionally, the bill replaces previous provisions that did not require states to recognise same-sex marriage with “provisions that prohibit the denial of full faith and credit or any right or claim relating to out-of-state marriages on the basis of sex, gender, race, ethnicity, or national origin.”

The legislation arose after the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade in June. Roe provided precedent for the constitutional concept of substantive due process and aided the court in recognising the unconstitutional nature of bans on same-sex and interracial marriages. Critics fear that Obergefell v. Hodges, which ruled that bans on same-sex marriage are unconstitutional, and Loving v. Virginia, which found bans on interracial marriage unconstitutional, are now in danger.

If approved by the House of Representatives and signed by President Biden, the bill would allow the Department of Justice to bring a civil action and establishes a private right of action for violations. The House of Representatives is expected to approve the bill, as it passed a similar bill in July.