born this way

President Joe Biden signed the Respect for Marriage Act into law on the South Lawn of the White House on Tuesday (Dec. 13), protecting same-sex and interracial marriages across the country.

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In a video shared to Twitter from the event, Lady Gaga‘s “Born This Way” begins to play through the speakers once Biden signed the bill. “I’m beautiful in my way, ’cause God makes no mistakes / I’m on the right track, baby, I was born this way,” Gaga’s anthemic chorus is heard as the president stands up to hug his wife, Dr. Jill Biden, and the rest of his team in celebration.

Gaga’s “Born This Way,” off her 2011 album of the same name, has been a powerful LGBTQIA+ anthem since its release. “Born This Way, my song and album, were inspired by Carl Bean, a gay black religious activist who preached, sung and wrote about being ‘Born This Way,’” Gaga wrote in an Instagram post in 2021. “Notably his early work was in 1975, 11 years before I was born. Thank you for decades of relentless love, bravery, and a reason to sing. So we can all feel joy, because we deserve joy. Because we deserve the right to inspire tolerance, acceptance, and freedom for all.”

The new law signed today was passed in the House of Representatives with a vote of 258-169, and 61-36 in the Senate. At the ceremony, Cyndi Lauper sang her iconic hit, “True Colors,” while Sam Smith took the stage to perform their breakthrough 2014 ballad, “Stay With Me.”