Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a
Democrat from New York, has signaled that a vote on a bill to codify
same-sex marriage will happen before the midterm elections.
Speaking with reporters, Schumer said
that the vote “will happen on the Senate floor in the coming
weeks.”
“We all want to pass this quickly,”
Schumer said on Wednesday. “Our two leading members on this issue,
Sen. [Tammy] Baldwin and [Kyrtsten] Sinema, are working with
Republicans to see if there are enough votes to pass the bill. But
let me be clear, a vote will happen. A vote on marriage equality will
happen on the Senate floor in the coming weeks and I hope there will
be 10 Republicans to support it.”
The Respect for Marriage Act cleared
the House in July with the support of 47 Republicans. It would codify
the Supreme Court's 2015 ruling in Obergefell that struck down
laws and constitutional amendments that defined marriage as a
heterosexual union, ushering in nationwide marriage equality.
Schumer said that the legislation was
“necessary” to protect marriage equality after the Supreme Court
overturned Roe v. Wade.
“Let’s remember why a vote on the
Respect for Marriage is necessary,” Schumer said. “Millions upon
millions of American women had their right taken away by the
extremist MAGA Supreme Court in the Dobbs decision. And in a
concurring opinion, Justice Thomas opened the door to the Supreme
Court going even further. The MAGA Republicans are taking over the
Republican Party and they’ve made it abundantly clear they’re not
satisfied with repealing Roe. So when some Republicans say,
‘Oh, a vote’s unnecessary, it won’t happen,’ they said the
same thing about Roe and here’s where we are.”
Schumer also poured cold water on
reports that the legislation could be added to a must-pass budget
measure.
“We would prefer to do it as a
separate bill,” he said. “We hope there are 10 Republicans to
help us with that.”
Senator Ted Cruz, a Republican from
Texas, on his podcast strongly hinted that he would vote against the
bill.
“This bill without a religious
liberty protection would have massive consequences across our
country, weaponizing the Biden administration to go and target
universities, K-12 schools, social service organizations, churches
and strip them all of their tax-exempt status,” Cruz claimed.
Four Senate Republicans have signaled
their support for the bill, including Susan Collins of Maine; Rob
Portman of Ohio; Thom Tillis of North Carolina; and Ron Johnson of
Wisconsin. Johnson's support, however, has been weak, with the
senator recently calling for an amendment for religious
accommodations.
Democrats have said that such an
amendment might be included in the final bill.