WACO, Texas — President Joe Biden signed the Respect for Marriage Act into law Tuesday, which makes same-sex and interracial marriages the law of the land.
Tuesday's signing will bring a wave of change for some couples across America, including some in Central Texas.
6 News sat down with Hayley and Jessica Voige who felt an overwhelming sense of relief on Tuesday as they are a same-sex couple who married back in 2020.
"The country's not going to come after our marriage anymore, they're not going to do that, they can't do that," Hayley said. "So, we can sort of just lean in and settle into our family and what we're building together and not live in fear that it's potentially going to get taken away."
Hayley and Jessica never knew if this day would come, but they held onto each other's love -- even when the world didn't see them as equals.
"Like not having been able to be in the hospital if one of us died or recognized for health insurance, which has happened to me before," Jessica said. "You know, just that our kids have a sense of like reality that we're not second class citizens."
Tuesday's decision wasn't just about how the country or state sees them, it was also about how their kids see them. The two Waco moms want to make sure their message of 'you can love who you want' is a consistent message surrounding their children.
"I think since all of the other political shifts have happened recently, we felt uncertain if our kids, our three precious children that we had from other marriages, would be able to recognize that our marriage was equal to everybody else's all this time and forever," Jessica explained.
The two are looking forward to not being asked if their marriage is legal and are hopeful this is a step in the right direction to more equality and acceptance across Central Texas and America.
The new law is intended to safeguard gay marriages if the U.S. Supreme Court ever reverses Obergefell v. Hodges, its 2015 decision legalizing same-sex unions nationwide. The new law also protects interracial marriages. In 1967, the Supreme Court in Loving v. Virginia struck down laws in 16 states barring interracial marriage.
Lawmakers crafted a compromise that was intended to assuage conservative concerns about religious liberty, such as ensuring churches could still refuse to perform gay marriages.
In addition, states will not be required to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. But they will be required to recognize marriages conducted elsewhere in the country.
A majority of Republicans in Congress still voted against the legislation. However, enough supported it to sidestep a filibuster in the Senate and ensure its passage.