Senate gay marriage bill negotiators to meet on how to advance the legislation before midterms
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Negotiators of the Senate gay marriage bill face important questions about what it will look like and how they will pass it as they continue to meet to push the legislation ahead of the midterms.
Among key issues, some Republicans are calling for a religious conscience protection amendment that may be needed for the bill to clear the Senate’s 60-vote filibuster threshold. In addition, the chamber’s limited presence means that the bill will compete with other priorities for votes and debates.
A Capitol Hill Democrat source told Fox News Digital on Tuesday that senior Senate Democrats were discussing the possibility of including the bill in a vital government funding package called a rolling resolution. In theory, this could save time by combining multiple Democratic priorities and enticing some reluctant Republicans wanting to avoid government shutdown to vote for the bill.
However, Sens. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., and Rob Portman, R-Ohio, original sponsors of the Senate Marriage Equality Act, on Tuesday expressed some doubts about the idea — though they didn’t directly oppose it.
GAY MARRIAGE ACT, OTHER MAJOR ISSUES ARE IN LIMBO WHILE SENATE RETURNS FROM AUGUST RECREATION
Senator Rob Portman is a major sponsor of a Senate bill to codify gay marriage rights nationally.
(Bill Clark/Pool via AP)
“We will talk to the group about this tomorrow. I’ll reserve judgment — other than to say I’m skeptical,” Portman told Fox News Digital on Tuesday. “I think it’s better to deal with it on its merits.”
“Attaching legislation to a CR is not the senator’s preferred path, as she would like to see it picked up sooner,” said a spokesman for Baldwin’s office. “The senator’s goal is to get the Respect for Marriage Act passed, and she will do whatever it takes to get there.”
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, DN.Y., promised a vote on gay marriage but has not committed to a timeline, emphasizing the importance of time-consuming confirmations by appellate courts. A further resolution would have to be passed before the end of September.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer speaks to reporters after a caucus luncheon at the Capitol July 19, 2022.
(AP Photo/J Scott Applewhite)
Details of a possible change in the protection of religion are also still open.
This is a priority for some Republicans who are willing to vote to codify gay marriage rights but also want to make sure the law doesn’t inadvertently violate Americans’ First Amendment rights. It could also risk angering some Democrats if they think it’s going too far,
Baldwin said senators expect to complete work on it in the next few days.
“There have been some great conversations about a change to address the many concerns of those who would like to come to a yes,” Baldwin told reporters. “People checked the language. We will release that publicly later this week.”
Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’s opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which challenged the Supreme Court’s precedent on gay marriage, Obergefell v. Hodges, spurred Congress to support same-sex marriage to protect at the federal level.
(Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
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A spokeswoman for Baldwin’s office also said she “will be meeting with her Republican colleagues this week to exchange notes on her public relations efforts to enlist more support from Senate Republicans.”
Congressional efforts to pass legislation protecting gay marriage rights followed a sole Supreme Court opinion by Judge Clarence Thomas in June in the case of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, in which he said the court should set its precedent on the issue “rethink”.
No other judges aligned themselves with Thomas, but that opinion became a major campaign issue for Democrats and spurred lawmakers from both parties to draft legislation that would require states to recognize same-sex marriage even if that precedent were eventually to fall .