12 in GOP join Senate Dems in advancing gay nuptials bill
WASHINGTON — Legislation to protect same-sex and interracial marriages crossed a major Senate hurdle Wednesday, putting Congress on track to take the historic step of ensuring that such unions are enshrined in federal law.
Twelve Republicans voted with all Democrats to move forward on the legislation, meaning a final vote could come as soon as this week, or later this month. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said the bill ensuring the unions are legally recognized under the law is chance for the Senate to “live up to its highest ideals” and protect marriage equality for all people.
“It will make our country a better, fairer place to live,” Schumer said, noting that his daughter and her wife are expecting a baby next year.
Senate Democrats are moving to pass the bill while the party still controls the House.
Republicans won the House majority and would be unlikely to take up the issue next year.
The bill has gained momentum since the Supreme Court’s decision in June that overturned Roe v. Wade and the federal right to an abortion. An opinion at that time from Justice Clarence Thomas suggested that an earlier high court decision protecting samesex marriage could also come under threat.
The legislation would repeal the Clinton-era Defense of Marriage Act and require states to recognize all marriages that were legal where they were performed. The new Respect for Marriage Act would also protect interracial marriages by requiring states to recognize legal marriages regardless of “sex, race, ethnicity, or national origin.”
Congress has been moving to protect same-sex marriage as support from the general public — and Republicans in particular — has sharply grown in recent years, as the Supreme Court’s 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges decision legalized gay marriage nationwide. Recent polling has found more than two-thirds of the public supports samesex unions.
A proposed amendment to the bill, negotiated by supporters to bring more Republicans on board, would clarify that it does not affect rights of private individuals or businesses already enshrined in law. Another tweak would make clear that a marriage is between two people, an effort to ward off some far-right criticism that the legislation could endorse polygamy.
Three Republican senators said early on that they would support the legislation and have lobbied their GOP colleagues to support it: Susan Collins of Maine, Thom Tillis or North Carolina and Rob Portman of Ohio. They argued that there was still value in enshrining the rights for such marriages even if the courts don’t invalidate them.
Nine of their GOP colleagues joined them in voting for it, bringing the total to 12 and providing enough votes to overcome a filibuster.
The other Republicans who voted for the legislation were Sens. Roy Blunt of Missouri, Richard Burr of North Carolina, , Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia, Joni Ernst of Iowa, Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Mitt Romney of Utah, Dan Sullivan of Alaska and Todd Young of Indiana.
The growing GOP support is a sharp contrast from a decade ago, when many Republicans vocally opposed same-sex marriages. The legislation passed the House in a July vote with the support of 47 Republicans — a larger-than-expected number that gave the measure a boost in the Senate.
On Tuesday, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints became the latest conservative-leaning group to back the legislation.
In a statement, the Utahbased faith said church doctrine would continue to consider same-sex relationships to be against God’s commandments, but it would support rights for same-sex couples as long as they didn’t infringe upon religious groups’ right to believe as they choose.