"Here we go," Biden said, before putting pen to paper and making it official.
Standing behind the president as he signed the new marriage act into law were Kentuckians Greg Bourke and Michael De Leon, who were part of the Supreme Court case that established marriage equality in 2015. They were one of four Kentucky couples on hand for the bill signing.
Also watching the ceremony was Chris Hartman, a Kentucky LGBTQ rights activist who told WUKY the event was something that seemed out of reach earlier in his life.
"As a gay teenager in 1997, this was beyond my wildest imagination," he said. "To stand there yesterday, to see Sam Smith and Cyndi Lauper perform, and then to see President Biden come out and reaffirm his belief in the dignity of all people, including LGBTQ Americans was incredibly historic."
Historic — and on a personal note for Hartman, life-changing.
"I seized upon the opportunity to go ahead and solemnify my marriage, and we got married on the White House lawn right after President Biden signed the Respect for Marriage Act, so it was a perfect moment."Chris Hartman, Fairness Campaign director
While the moment may have been perfect, Hartman noted the Respect for Marriage Act is more of a guardrail should the high court choose to overturn the decision that legalized gay marriage across the country. Now if that happens, both states and the federal government would be required to honor same-sex and interracial marriages that have been performed — but in states without protections for same-sex marriage, like Kentucky, officials would stop issuing new licenses.
Hartman said, while this week’s signing was a step forward, LGBTQ Americans still have a long way to go if they're to achieve full equality and protection against discrimination.
