SAG-AFTRA Applauds President Biden and Congress for the Enactment of the Respect for Marriage Act

SAG-AFTRA today released the following statement regarding the Enactment of the Respect for Marriage Act:

"SAG-AFTRA applauds the enactment of the Respect for Marriage Act. We are grateful to President Joe Biden for signing the bipartisan legislation, and to Sens. Baldwin (D-Wis.), Collins (R-Maine), Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Tillis (R-NC), and Reps. Cicilline (D-R.I.-01) and Nadler (D-N.Y.-10) for introducing the measure.

"The passage of the Respect for Marriage Act will ensure that the federal and state governments will continue to recognize and respect all marriages, without discrimination based on gender, sexual orientation, national origin, ethnicity, or race. This legislation is an important step to protecting the LGBTQ+ Americans who remain vulnerable to discrimination in their daily lives.  

"We thank this leadership for recognizing that our freedom to marry needs protection and for their tireless efforts to build bipartisan support in Congress. The Respect for Marriage Act will bring comfort not only to SAG-AFTRA members but also to millions of families across the country."

SAG-AFTRA National Executive Director Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, who attended today’s bill signing, added, "I am honored and thrilled to have attended this historic enactment. Seeing President Biden sign the Respect for Marriage act into law is a moment I will never forget. As someone who has personally fought for marriage equality for more than 30 years, this legislation means everything. Today, Congress and President Biden have eliminated any doubt of the federal requirement for respect and recognition for same sex marriage and that is an extraordinary achievement. The bipartisan majority that enacted this legislation is a sign of the progress we have made as a society; the fact we need this legislation at all is a sign of how far we still have to go.”

About SAG-AFTRA

SAG-AFTRA represents approximately 160,000 actors, announcers, broadcast journalists, dancers, DJs, news writers, news editors, program hosts, puppeteers, recording artists, singers, stunt performers, voiceover artists and other entertainment and media professionals. SAG-AFTRA members are the faces and voices that entertain and inform America and the world. A proud affiliate of the AFL-CIO, SAG-AFTRA has national offices in Los Angeles and New York and local offices nationwide representing members working together to secure the strongest protections for entertainment and media artists into the 21st century and beyond. Visit SAG-AFTRA online at SAGAFTRA.org.