The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) and
Equality Utah are calling on Utah Senator Mitt Romney, a Republican,
to support a bill that seeks to protect same-sex marriage.
On Monday, a petition calling for
Romney's support on the bill was delivered to his office in downtown
Salt Lake City. According to the groups, hundreds of people from
across Utah signed the petition.
“In recent days, Utahns working with
HRC and Equality Utah have made almost 4,000 constituent contacts to
Sen. Romney – including phone calls and letters – urging his
support,” HRC said in a post.
The House approved the Respect for
Marriage Act last month with the support of 47 Republicans. The bill
was first introduced in 2009 by New York Representative Jerrold
Nadler, a Democrat. Nadler said that it was important to codify the
Supreme Court's marriage equality opinion in Obergefell after
it struck down Roe v. Wade, which like Obergefell was
based on the right to privacy.
The bill needs the support of 10
Republicans to clear the Senate. Five GOP senators have said they
would vote for the measure.
Romney has not said that he's opposed
to the bill.
“We all know what the law is and I
don't see the law changing, so it's not something I'm giving
consideration to at this stage,” he
told The
Hill, adding that he would consider the bill “it it comes
our way.”
The Respect for Marriage Act repeals
the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), a law that prohibited the federal
government from recognizing the legal marriages of gay and lesbian
couples. The Supreme Court struck down DOMA in 2013. The Respect for
Marriage Act also requires states to recognize the marriages of
same-sex couples performed in different states.