Photo: AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin

John Becker, right, hugs his friend and fellow LGBT advocate Paul Guequierre, outside the Supreme Court in Washington, Friday, June 26, 2015, after the court declared that same-sex couples have a right to marry anywhere in the US.

Seven years ago, tears of joy flooded the Supreme Court steps when millions of Americans were granted a basic human right long afforded to the rest of society.

Obergefell v. Hodges, a landmark civil rights case that reached the Supreme Court,legalized same-sex marriage nationwide on June 26, 2015, giving LGBTQ+ people hope that better days were ahead. For a while, it seemed that way, with lifelong couples finally able to call each other spouse and public opinion toward the queer community improving.

And on June 24, in the most significant unraveling of human rights in modern history, the heavily conservative Supreme CourtoverturnedRoe v. Wade, eliminating pregnant people’s constitutional right to abortion andpaving a path to come for contraceptives and same-sex relationshipsnext.

“The right to privacy, that’s something we all deserve as human beings,“Jim Obergefell, namesake plaintiff inObergefell v. Hodges,recently told PEOPLE. “It’s something that our constitution should keep sacrosanct, but [overturningRoe] takes that away.”

Wives celebrate the legalization of same-sex marriage outside SCOTUS in 2015.AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin

Ikeita Cantu, left, and her wife Carmen Guzman, of McLean, Va., hold up signs as they celebrate outside of the Supreme Court in Washington, Friday June 26, 2015, after the court declared that same-sex couples have a right to marry anywhere in the US. The couple was married in Canada in 2009 when gay marriage was illegal in Virginia

Now, Congress is attempting to do the same with marriage equality, this time proactively, in an attempt to get ahead of a possible Supreme Court outcome down the road.

Seventy-one percent of Americans currently support same-sex marriage — the highest percentage ever recorded — according to arecent Gallup poll. But that may not be enough to sway Republican officials.

“These decisions, this movement towards government intrusion into our bedrooms, into our doctor’s offices, into our schools, everyone should be worried about that,” Obergefell told PEOPLE about the dangerous position Americans are in right now.

“Can we all just treat each other as human beings deserving of the same dignity, the same respect, the same rights?”

A couple shares a triumphant and emotional hug before their marriage ceremony on June 26, 2015.AP Photo/John Minchillo

Barb Eisenhart, left, and Tiffany Wahl, hug before their marriage ceremony at Fountain Square, Friday, June 26, 2015, in Cincinnati, after the Supreme Court declared that same-sex couples have a right to marry anywhere in the United States.

The Respect for Marriage Act

Congress' fight to protect Americans' marriage rights is well underway, presented in the form of the Respect for Marriage Act, abbreviated as RFMA.

The bill aims to repeal the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, or DOMA, which defined marriage as involving a man and woman and gave states the authority to refuse recognition of same-sex couples who had married.

Supporters of same-sex marriage await the groundbreaking Supreme Court ruling.Bill O’Leary/The Washington Post via Getty

Supporters of same sex marriage rally in front of the Supreme Court awaiting a ruling to legalize gay marriage nationwide, on June, 25, 2015 in Washington, DC.

The Respect for Marriage Act was first introduced in 2009 and, though it passed the House and was moved to the Senate floor in 2011, the Senate vote never occurred. AfterObergefell, there seemed to be no reason to continue pushing for it — until the events of this year.

On Tuesday, the House passed RFMA in a 267-157 vote, with 47 Republican representatives joining Democrats in defending marriage equality. With 65% support, it still failed to fully reflect the 71% of Americans who support same-sex marriages, but it was enough to move the bill along.

Now, RFMA sits in Senate’s hands, where Democrats will need to get 10 Republican senators to side with them in order to meet the 60-vote threshold for passage. It’s a tall order, since senators are less representative of the American population and notoriously loyal to party lines.

Republican Sen.Susan Collins, who helped introduce the latest, bipartisan iteration of RFMA, shared a statement about her participation with PEOPLE, saying, “This bill is another step to promote equality, prevent discrimination, and protect the rights of all Americans.”

The senator, who isknown to cross party linesfrom time to time, says she has proudly supported legislation that prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

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Collins' fellow co-sponsor, Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin, is the first openly LGBTQ+ person elected to Senate. In a statement shared with PEOPLE, she said, “We cannot allow this freedom and right to be denied,” hinting at her impending fight to get Republicans on board with RFMA.

source: people.com