Last week, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted 10 to 8 to pass the “Respect for Marriage Act” (RFA). This legislation, introduced by Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), would repeal the so-called “Defense of Marriage Act” (DOMA), which bans federal recognition of same-sex marriages. The vote was down strict party lines, with the 10 Democrats voting for repeal of DOMA and the 8 Republicans voting to keep the discriminatory law. But what does this vote mean, and where do we go from here?

To be clear, this was a vote in the Senate Judiciary Committee. From here, the bill would, in theory, go to the full Senate for a vote. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) could add it to the agenda for debate, a move that would need to be agreed to by unanimous consent or pass on a motion to proceed. The problem comes from the fact that a motion to proceed is subject to a filibuster, which Republicans in the Senate have been using at historic levels to force a supermajority of 60 votes to move forward.

Republicans on the committee said that they did not expect the Senate to take up the bill at all, so the prospect of a filibuster if it was brought up is a certainty. The other option is for an individual senator to bring the bill up as an amendment to other legislation, although it is unclear if that will happen, as well. Senator Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) spoke to the powerful statement that would be made by the vote alone, even if it failed this time: “If this is brought to the floor, and only the 30 co-sponsors vote for it, it is worth it.”

Full Story from the Huffington Post

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