Same-sex marriage protection bill clears initial hurdle in U.S. Senate
The U.S. Senate on Wednesday voted to advance a bill protecting federal recognition of same-sex marriage, prompted by concerns that a more conservative Supreme Court could reverse a 2015 decision that made it legal nationwide.
The bill garnered the 60 votes required to limit debate before a final vote on its passage. It would serve as a legal backstop against any future Supreme Court action by requiring the federal government to recognize any marriage that was legal in the state it was performed.
It would not block states from banning same-sex or interracial marriages if the Supreme Court allows them to do so.
All 50 Democrats and 12 Republican senators voted to advance the bill in the 100-member Senate. The House of Representatives passed a similar bill in July, with the support of 47 Republicans and all of the chamber's Democrats.
The bill will have to jump through several more Senate procedural hoops before returning to the House for final approval and then to the president for his signature.
When the Supreme Court overturned federal protections for abortion in June, Justice Clarence Thomas caused alarm by writing in his concurring opinion that the court should consider overturning other precedents protecting individual freedoms including the 2015 ruling legalizing gay marriage.
There are roughly 568,000 married same-sex couples in the United States, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
The vote by Mr. Romney, a Mormon, came a day after the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints said it would back the legislation, a dramatic shift for an organization that historically has aggressively opposed gay rights. But I guess that was good enough only for Romney, but not Mike Lee, the other Utah Senator.
Republicans who voted for the bill: Ms. Collins, Mr. Romney, Roy Blunt of Missouri, Richard M. Burr of North Carolina, Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia, Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming, Rob Portman of Ohio, Dan Sullivan of Alaska, Thom Tillis of North Carolina, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Joni Ernst of Iowa and Todd Young of Indiana.
The bill garnered the 60 votes required to limit debate before a final vote on its passage. It would serve as a legal backstop against any future Supreme Court action by requiring the federal government to recognize any marriage that was legal in the state it was performed.
It would not block states from banning same-sex or interracial marriages if the Supreme Court allows them to do so.
All 50 Democrats and 12 Republican senators voted to advance the bill in the 100-member Senate. The House of Representatives passed a similar bill in July, with the support of 47 Republicans and all of the chamber's Democrats.
The bill will have to jump through several more Senate procedural hoops before returning to the House for final approval and then to the president for his signature.
When the Supreme Court overturned federal protections for abortion in June, Justice Clarence Thomas caused alarm by writing in his concurring opinion that the court should consider overturning other precedents protecting individual freedoms including the 2015 ruling legalizing gay marriage.
There are roughly 568,000 married same-sex couples in the United States, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
The vote by Mr. Romney, a Mormon, came a day after the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints said it would back the legislation, a dramatic shift for an organization that historically has aggressively opposed gay rights. But I guess that was good enough only for Romney, but not Mike Lee, the other Utah Senator.
Republicans who voted for the bill: Ms. Collins, Mr. Romney, Roy Blunt of Missouri, Richard M. Burr of North Carolina, Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia, Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming, Rob Portman of Ohio, Dan Sullivan of Alaska, Thom Tillis of North Carolina, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Joni Ernst of Iowa and Todd Young of Indiana.
