Tell our Senators: Protect the Most Personal of Life Choices!
Call BOTH of your Senators.
Call Script
My name is __________. I am a constituent, and my zip code is _______. I am a member of Indivisible SF.
I ask that you co-sponsor the Respect for Marriage Act and the Right to Contraception Act, and work in the Senate to ensure their passage.
Background
Same-sex marriage:
On June 26, 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Obergefell v. Hodges that the 14th Amendment requires all U.S. states to recognize same-sex marriages. This decision rendered the last remaining provision of the 1996 Defense of Marriage ACt unenforceable. In effect, it made the Respect for Marriage Act currently up for a vote into de facto federal law. However, the future of same-sex marriage in the United States was called into question again 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.
The House passed the Respect for Marriage Act protecting same-sex marriage last Wednesday. Although 47 Republicans voted yes, the vast majority of Republicans voted against something 71 percent of Americans now approve of – a record high.
Protecting access to contraception:
Last Thursday, our Representative and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi brought to the floor a bill codifying the right to contraception, which Democratic, Republican, and independent voters all overwhelmingly favor. H.R.8373 will “protect a person’s ability to access contraceptives and to engage in contraception, and to protect a health care provider’s ability to provide contraceptives, contraception, and information related to contraception.” Even though 98 percent of American women use birth control at some point in their lives, 195 Republicans voted against the bill.
References
Opinion | Pass the Respect for Marriage Act - The Washington Post Editorial Board, 7/24/22
Same-Sex Marriage Bill Advances in US Congress, VOA News, 7/24/22
Same-Sex Marriage Support Inches Up to New High of 71%, Gallup, 6/1/22
Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization :: 597 U.S., Justicia, 6/24/22
H.R.8404 - 117th Congress (2021-2022): Respect for Marriage Act
H.R.8373 117th Congress (2021-2022): Right to Contraception Act
House passes protection for birth-control access; Senate support is unclear, Washington Post, 7/24/21