The U.S. Senate voted to advance a bill codifying a federal right to same-sex marriage.
The vote is the first major legislative move by the lame-duck 117th Senate. In a bipartisan 62–37 vote, the Senate voted to end debate on the measure. Twelve Republicans joined all 50 Democrats in voting to advance.
The bill would repeal the definition of marriage as between a man and a woman and replace it with language inclusive of gay marriage.
“The bill also repeals and replaces provisions that do not require states to recognize same-sex marriages from other states 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, race, ethnicity, or national origin,” the description of the bill on the Senate website says….