The US House of Representatives has decisively adopted legislation to safeguard same-sex and interracial marriages out of worry that the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade will jeopardize other conservative-criticized rights.

In a spirited but overwhelming discussion, Democrats advocated passionately and frequently on a personal level for enshrining marriage equality in federal law, and Republicans refrained from overtly opposing gay marriage. Instead, prominent Republicans presented the law as unneeded in light of other national concerns.

Tuesday's (local time) election-year roll call, 267-157, was a partly political strategy, compelling Republicans and Democrats in the House to go on record. It also highlighted the legislative branch's resistance to an aggressive court that has raised issues about reconsidering other ostensibly fixed US laws.

According to sources, Republican (GOP) leaders did not pressure their members to vote against the bill out of fear of political repercussions. In total, 47 Republicans voted for passage alongside all Democrats.

Representative Mondaire Jones, who said he was among the openly gay members of the House, stated, "For me, this is personal."

Imagine telling the next American generation, my generation, that we no longer have the right to marry the person we love, he continued. "Congress cannot permit that to occur."

The Respect for Marriage Act quickly cleared the House with a Democratic majority. Still, it is expected to stall in the evenly divided Senate, where most Republicans would likely join a filibuster to oppose it. It is one of several laws, including those enshrining abortion access, that Democrats have proposed to combat the conservative majority of the Supreme Court. This week, a vote is scheduled on a bill that would ensure access to contraceptive services.

Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Whip Representative Steve Scalise voted against the marriage rights bill, although No. 3 Republican Representative Elise Stefanik of New York voted in favor of the bill.

Mitch McConnell, the leader of the Senate Republicans, declined to comment on the idea, leaving it unclear how vigorously his party would oppose it if it came up for a vote in the upper chamber.

Representative Liz Cheney of Wyoming, who voted in favor of same-sex marriage on Tuesday, is one of the key Republicans in the House. They have modified their stance on same-sex marriage over the past several years.

In her affirmative vote, Representative Nancy Mace of South Carolina stated, "If gay couples want to be as happily or miserably married as straight couples, that's their business."

Most Americans favor keeping the right to marry regardless of sex, gender, race, or ethnicity, indicating a long-developing shift in current attitudes toward inclusion.

Seventy percent of US adults, according to a Gallup poll conducted in June, believe same-sex marriages should be legally recognized as valid. The poll revealed that both Democrats (83 percent) and Republicans (83 percent) hold majority support (55 percent ).

Gallup reports that approval of interracial marriage in the United States reached a six-decade high of 94% in September.

Several lawmakers joined demonstrators demonstrating against the abortion verdict in front of the Supreme Court, located across from the Capitol and gated off for security during stormy political times before Tuesday's vote. Capitol Police said that 16 members of Congress were among those arrested.

"The extreme right-wing majority on the Supreme Court has put our country on a perilous path," said Representative Mary Gay Scanlon (Democrat) in a speech on the House floor that set the tone for Tuesday's debate.

"It is time for our colleagues on the other side of the aisle to take a position. Will they vote to defend these basic liberties? Or will they choose to allow states to take away these liberties?"

In June, when the Supreme Court overturned the nearly 50-year-old Roe v. Wade decision, Republicans asserted that the court was primarily concerned with abortion availability and that other rights, including same-sex marriage, were not at risk.

None of the Republicans speaking throughout the discussion brought up same-sex or interracial marriage.

Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio, the leading Republican on the Judiciary Committee, stated, "We are here for a political charade, we are here for political messaging."

The Senate would likely adopt the same strategy.

Senator Josh Hawley (Republican) stated, "This premise is completely false. I do not believe the Supreme Court will reverse any of that."

Several Democrats described inequities they or their loved ones had experienced in same-sex marriages. At the same time, the Republicans discussed rising gas prices, inflation, and criminality, including recent threats against justices about the abortion rule.

For Republicans in Congress, the confirmation of conservative justices to the Supreme Court during the Trump administration has accomplished a long-term goal of revisiting numerous social, environmental, and regulatory issues that the party has been unable to address by passing legislation that could be signed into law.

The Respect for Marriage Act would nullify a Clinton-era statute that defines marriage as a heterosexual union between a man and a woman. It would ban states from withholding out-of-state marriage licenses and benefits based on sex, race, ethnicity, or national origin, thereby providing legal safeguards for interracial marriages.

The 1996 law, the Defence of Marriage Act, was rendered largely irrelevant by Obama-era court judgments, including Obergefell v. Hodges, a landmark victory for homosexual rights that recognized the right of same-sex couples to marry nationally.

Justice Samuel Alito, writing for the majority that overturned Roe v. Wade last month, argued for a narrower interpretation of the rights granted to Americans, pointing out that the right to an abortion was not explicitly stated in the Constitution.

In a concurring opinion, Justice Clarence Thomas argued that other decisions comparable to Roe, including those on same-sex marriage and the ability of couples to use contraception, should also be examined.

Others have taken notice of Alito's assertion in the majority opinion that "this decision concerns the constitutional right to abortion and no other right."

"The MAGA radicals who are taking control of the Republican Party have made it abundantly clear that they are not satisfied with the repeal of Roe," said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (Democrat).

Senator Ted Cruz, a Texas Republican, stated over the weekend that the Supreme Court's decision safeguarding marriage equality was "clearly wrong" and that state legislatures should revisit the issue.

However, Schumer did not guarantee a vote on the marriage bill.