J.D. Vance, the Republican candidate
for U.S. Senate from Ohio, said during a recent debate that he's
opposed to a same-sex marriage bill.
Vance, who has the backing of former
President Donald Trump, signaled his opposition during a debate with
Democratic nominee Tim Ryan.
When asked about the Respect for
Marriage Act, Vance answered: “I've come out against this bill and
I don't think it's actually about gay marriage or same-sex marriage
or same-sex equality.”
“Look, gay marriage is the law of the
land of this country and I'm not trying to do anything to change
that,” he added.
The bill, which cleared the House with
the support of 47 Republicans, is a response to the Supreme Court's
overturning of Roe v.
Wade, which like Obergefell, the 2015 decision that
ushered in marriage equality nationwide, was decided on the right to
privacy.
Ryan reiterated his support for the
measure.
“I voted for that in the House of
Representatives and I will support codifying that in the Senate,”
Ryan said. “Only J.D. Vance can say that the bill that codifies
same-sex marriage is not about same-sex marriage. The problem we have
here, we have 15,000 marriages here in Ohio and when you read Justice
Thomas’ opinion on abortion, which J.D. Vance wants to celebrate,
it also included in there nullifying these marriages, and it also
included in there getting rid of protections around birth control.”
Vance and Ryan are running for the seat
being vacated by the retiring Senator Rob Portman, a Republican and a
co-sponsor of the Respect for Marriage Act.
Senate leadership has said that the
bill will come up for a vote after the midterms.