washington journal continues.

host: the past four respect for marriage act and to talk about other issues impacting the lgbtq community, the director of the lgbtq task force. what exactly does this legislation do? guest: it makes sure those who have gotten married, that right is respected at the federal

level and the state level. government recognition and acknowledgment of marriages between all people, including same-sex. host: how does it do that? guest: it creates an opportunity for interstate recognition. it creates an opportunity for if the supreme court overturns windsor, it puts a protection in place that says regardless of what happens, these marriage are protected. host: repealed the 1970 mayor jack. it does that overturn the defense of marriage jack? -- marriage act? guest: it doesn't overturn but it makes it inoperable. basically insurance to ensure if the supreme court does decide to

try to go there, these marriages and these families are protected. host: if the supreme court were to decide to go there, and this marriage act were not signed into law, what would happen? guest: at that point the states decide if they are going to allow marriages between two same gender loving people and whether or not they are going to recognize those. without the respect for marriage act, these marriages wouldn't be respected. these marriages would not be accessible to those couples. host: the religious liberty protections, explain what those were about. guest: some of the amendments offered, there is already language in the respect for marriage act that protects

religious freedom. it doesn't change any constitutional rights related to religious freedom. that is why we saw so much support for this bill in the first place and why we saw these amendments host: along the way. host:host: phone numbers to call in in this segment, (202) 748-8000 democrats,. republicans, (202) 748-8001. independents, (202) 748-8002. in a special line for those who identify as lgbtq, (202) 748-8003. 12 republicans joining democrats to pass this legislation. this is where senator chuck schumer was on the floor talking about the legislation. [video clip] >> today's vote is deeply personal for many of us in this

chamber. it is personal for me, it is personal to many of my colleagues and their staff and their families. while we still have a few more votes to take today, it is joy and relief. let's remember nothing about this process was certain. remember, mr. president, it was our original plan to act on the respect for marriage act in september, shortly after the house voted to pass this bill over the summer with a surprising 47 republicans voting for the act. we knew this bill was top-tier. we knew it was the right thing to do. what we did not know was whether or not we had enough support, 60 votes to pass this bill through the senate. maybe the votes would materialize if we were forced to vote on the floor, but that was highly unlikely. for a great number of us, for so much of america, this bill was

too important to risk failure. back in september, when i met with the leaders of this bill in my office, they recommended i hold off on a vote because they believed they could secure enough support for this bill. many questioned if it was the right thing to do. many on my side of the aisle. sometimes they say that is the way to go. but at the end of the day, my number one priority is to always get : legislation passed through the senate so i made the decision to take the risk pushing respect for marriage over the finish line at patience, persistence and today it is paying off. host: senator chuck schumer on

the senate floor yesterday. guest: we are basically waiting for this bill to go to the house. we have our fingers crossed. a whole bunch of prayers going up in hopes to see the house passes this bill. once that happens it goes to the president. we are getting there. host: kierra johnson into -- is our guest. executive director of the international -- of the national lgbtq task force. guest: we work for the rights of lgbtq people around the country. host: in maryland, line for democrats, you are on with kierra caller: johnson. caller: i am really happy about

this decision. i understand there are folks out there that use religion to say it is not right. you are entitled to your opinion. but we all have someone that is lgbtq. you might not know it, but at this point, we have a friend, sister or something. we don't want to see them suffer. it is not perfect that i am trying to not let perfect be the enemy of this. host: what is not perfect about it, what would you like it to be? caller: there is a lot of nuance around it. there could be loopholes and that scares me. host: kierra johnson, loopholes

in that? guest: we are now in political time where we have to fight battles we thought we had already won. that caution is valid and real. and i agree with you with not letting perfect get in the way of the good. vice pres. harris: vice pres. harris: vice pres. harris: we have got8 homework to do. 8 caller: discrimination. shows up in other places other than marriage. pres. biden: we have got work to do78 to further nondiscrimination vice pres. harris: vice pres. harris: across the country and show that host: lgbtq people who are not married are able to enjoy and reap the benefits of their full human and civil rights. host: what is the next piece of legislation your group would like to see past? guest: the equality act. we have been talking about the

rise in violence across the nation, targeting of lgbtq people. specifically trance and non-binary use. -- specifically trans and non-binary youth. we have seen the equality act as the next big step. host: what does the equality act to do? guest: it expands the rights of lgbtq people but also women and people of color, including some of these public accommodations that did not exist when nondiscrimination policies were originally formed or passed for places like uber and airplanes. and just everyday society. when we are talking about housing and health care.

those places it is ongoing discrimination that is affecting our community daily. host: from colorado, this is keith. you are on. caller: it is time for america to celebrate. if we think about the bush administration filing briefs in the large view texas case, where the government tries to enter the bedrooms of lgbtq people, that was 2003. the amazing thing is the societal evolution and education of the american people. conservatives, you fight tooth and nail and eventually you come

along. you deserve credit for that. i know there are religious implications for evangelicals particularly. keep in mind, lgbtq people are religious as well and have faith. it is a time for america to celebrate. let's keep the progress moving forward. guest: thank you so much for that. my heart goes out to all of those in colorado. i used to live in colorado. i lived there during columbine. i really appreciate what you are saying about one, people of faith are also a part of the lgbtq community. it is often rocket science for folks to understand and believe that. we have our very drunk network of faith leaders and people of faith. advocating and doing community work within the religious

community within their lgbt community, it is important to talk about gun violence. there is policy waiting to be passed that protects our society , including our lgbtq community by passing real laws. gun control is an lgbtq issue. that is a policy i am hoping we can make forward movement on soon. host: republican line, good morning. caller: i believe in god and i wouldn't want nothing to happen to any gay people, but in the bible, it says that god destroyed sodom and gomorrah because of this. and it is being taught to our children. if you want to live that way, you can live that in secret, not out in the public.

the church should be allowed to marry people of the same sex in churches. guest: the beauty of this country is freedom of religion. how we practice, how we praise, how we are in community in our faith traditions are diverse. it is important that we should be respecting faith traditions. regardless of how people feel about religion, regardless of what their faith traditions are, we are a country that has to be about protecting everyone in our country. i don't have to agree with who you are or what you do 100% of the time to fundamentally and deeply believe that you reserve

respect, dignity and full health and the ability to thrive in our democracy. host: the line identified for lgbtq, this is christopher in cumberland, virginia. good morning. caller: good morning to you both. the bill that has been addressed, does it at all do anything about, because clarence thomas was talking about addressing there are two married men or two married women and they are in a state that is overturned -- they overturned texas, is there anything in that bill that would take to two married people in a state that no longer recognizes that marriage?

that doesn't perform that marriage but wants to reenact sodomy laws? guest: i think you are asking if a marriage performed in another state would be recognized in another state even if they don't legally perform marriages for same-sex couples or recognize them in general. the answer to that is yes. the respect for marriage act ensures in every state marriages that have happened legally are recognized and federally they are recognized. that is why this protection was so needed. host: this is jerry and mississippi live it for democrats. good morning. caller: when we educate

ourselves in voting, voting is the key. we can get a lot of good things done, but we must get our people registered, get our people out to vote. thank you and god bless america. guest: you are fired up and ready to go. i felt it and agree. host: npr, the question they address, the historic numbers of lgbtq in the midterm election. can you speak to that? guest: one of the things many people were waiting to see during the midterm was this so-called red wave or tsunami. the reality is that that didn't happen. a large part of that had to do with the number of lgbtq people who turned out to vote but also

young people who turned out to vote across the country. lgbtq issues but also access to reproductive health care and abortion really catalyzed a lot of folks to get out there and have their voices heard. host: in ohio, republican line. good morning. caller: before, talking about our budgets and how our budgets can stay under control, right now we are about to change the definition of men and women. it is one thing to say it is ok to get married. it is a whole another world to say we are going to pay for everything because of that change. there are laws right now. the other thing talking in the united states, talking about the world, suddenly the constitution has men and women.

we are going to change all of that. we don't know what this is going to cost us. a couple trillion, 4 trillion on health care. host: what are you worried about paying for? caller: it is one thing to say, get married. it is another thing, who is going to be responsible for health care costs. people around the world getting married to the opposite sex, it is going to cause a lot of problems in our system. our health care may go up because if there is someone in the world who says let's get married and by the way, the u.s. will pay for it. host: kierra johnson, is there an economic cost to the respect for marriage act? guest: i don't see any economic

cost except a positive one for costs saved by married couples. they are not having to put forth a whole lot of legal fees to ensure they can support their partners if they are in the hospital. they don't have to put forth a lot of legal fees to have access and joint parentage to the children they may choose to parent together. it is just about honoring the relationships with the benefits that come along with that. we do have to have a conversation about how do we make sure all people, regardless of marriage have what they need to thrive in our democracy? health care access, that should be accessible to all people. is there a benefit in being married? sure.

it is a right that should be accessible to all people. it is something we should be talking about. i don't see any impact of cost. host: the line for those identifying as lgbtq, this is --. good morning. caller: kierra, thank you for being on today. i have had this issue of marriage equality come up in my family. in respect to my father i asked him about what he thought about this issue and he knows that i have been dating the same man for 41 years. he quoted to me a passage in the bible from matthew 19 that says there are some men that shouldn't marry. and i said i know what st. matthew fuels but i want to know

what you feel. how do you feel about me and my boyfriend getting married. host: what did he say? caller: he didn't say anything. he sat there stone cold, tightlipped and had no answer. i also asked him, if i was to as -- if i was to marry him, how would that take anything away from the three marriages that you had in your lifetime? he is 83, i am 63. william and i have been together for 41 years. it really hurts. your family says they love you and accept you for being out and open but when it comes to marriage equality it gets real personal for me. i thank you again, kierra.

you are a beautiful expression of life. thank you for being on c-span. have a blessed day. guest: so honored to be here and so appreciative of the vulnerability you shared. my father was 41 years older than me and it was not easy coming out. but if a 73-year-old black man that can shift and evolve, then i truly believe so many people can. by being in community, being in family, when people witness our love and our family and how much we invest in our community, in our schools, it changes hearts and it changes minds. sometimes people have to deal with their barriers within to get them to loving they really want to be doing. good luck with you and take care of your head and your heart. host: live gavel-to-gavel

coverage, this is sean in washington, d.c., good morning. caller: i wanted to address three misstatements this lady just made. number one, she supports this -- she supports religion. if there were a baker that didn't want to do a cake for a gay copper, i am sure she would oppose that. a caller was talking about transgender person changing their gender, the cost associated with that. she said there is no cost associated with that. the federal government is on the hook to start paying for that as it does other types of surgery. it will be tens of thousands of dollars for each surgery. a family economically poor person, it is a shift in values away from helping the poor and disenfranchised. the average married couple earns over 150 thousand dollars according to the federal government.

at the same thing applies to lesbian couples. this has been a shift in priorities helping disenfranchised people. i am very sad to see this happen in my lifetime. goodbye. guest: there were so many things in there. around a shift from supporting poor or low income the respect for marriage act doesn't support no income people who are lgbtq who decide they want to be married, but i also agree with you. we have got to be paying attention to what the needs are of low income people and low income people with disabilities in terms of broad access to health care, jobs, and stable and quality homes.

we can do the both/and. as far as religion goes, we are focused on acknowledgment by the federal and state government. it does not force private entities or individuals to recognize or provide services and goods for same-sex marriages, which is disappointing for some of us, but those are the facts of the bill. host: we will have to end it there this morning. the house is getting ready to come in. kierra johnson his executive director of -- kierra johnson his executive directo