GOP’s Tillis Expects Senate Passage of Marriage Equality Bill

[Right_in_Virginia]

GOP’s Tillis Expects Senate Passage of Marriage Equality Bill
MSN, Sep 6, 2022, Bloomberg News

Senator Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican, said he expects there will be enough support from his party to pass a marriage equality bill this month.

Democrats have not yet attracted the 10 Republican senators they need to pass the bill in the evenly divided chamber, but negotiators are making progress, Tillis said.

The legislative push to codify same-sex marriages comes after Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas suggested the high court reconsider the decision establishing a marriage right. Polling shows adult Americans strongly favor marriage equality, potentially giving Democrats a wedge issue if Republicans block the measure.

Senator Tammy Baldwin, a Wisconsin Democrat, and Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine are leading the talks, which now center on an amendment addressing religious liberties. Tillis said he and some of his GOP colleagues are generally supportive of what’s currently being discussed.

“We’ve made progress with the drafting,” he added. “I think we’ve addressed a lot of the religious freedom questions that some had and we think we’re going to move it this month.”


More:  https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/gops-tillis-expects-senate-passage-of-marriage-equality-bill/ar-AA11xsd2

[Right_in_Virginia]

The Senate must stand together on marriage equality
Washington Post, Sep 6, 2022, Tammy Baldwin and Susan Collins

<snip>

The Respect for Marriage Act is a simple, straightforward measure, only four pages in length — it is shorter than this op-ed. The bipartisan legislation would repeal the Defense of Marriage Act, a 1996 law that allowed states and the federal government to refuse to recognize same-sex marriages validly performed in other states.

The Respect for Marriage Act would simply require the federal government to recognize a marriage if the marriage was valid in the state where it was performed. It would guarantee legal marriages are given full faith and credit, regardless of the couple’s sex, race, ethnicity or national origin. This legislation has earned bipartisan support in Congress because it grants same-sex and interracial couples the certainty that they will continue to enjoy the same equal treatment under federal law as all other married couples.

Despite being fewer than 500 words, the Respect for Marriage Act has been misunderstood, leading to false assertions and mischaracterizations of its scope. This legislation would not, in fact, legalize or recognize polygamous relationships or marriages. Polygamous marriages are already illegal in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, and this bill would not authorize or recognize them.

Moreover, religious liberty is a founding tenet of our republic, and the Respect for Marriage Act honors that principle. Our bipartisan legislation leaves intact religious liberties and protections afforded to individuals and organizations under federal law. We recognize that some might need more clarity on this point, and that is why we have worked together with our Senate colleagues to develop clarifying language to the legislation that makes it clear what the Respect for Marriage Act would not do — it will not take away or alter any religious liberty or conscience protections.

We have worked across party lines to bring the Senate together and build support for the Respect for Marriage Act because we should be able to agree that same-sex and interracial couples, regardless of where they live, both need and deserve the assurance that their marriage will be recognized by the federal government and that they will continue to enjoy freedoms, rights and responsibilities that come with all other marriages

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/09/06/tammy-baldwin-susan-collins-marriage-equality-overdue/
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[Right_in_Virginia]

Moreover, religious liberty is a founding tenet of our republic, and the Respect for Marriage Act honors that principle. Our bipartisan legislation leaves intact religious liberties and protections afforded to individuals and organizations under federal law.

How is this possible?

[Right_in_Virginia]

Four page "Respect for Marriage Act": 

https://www.feinstein.senate.gov/public/_cache/files/3/b/3b5d2a33-c431-4d3b-bfc1-8055f8e2528c/5B3F0CAF22DB501510B2767E922434DB.2022.07.18-respect-for-marriage-act.pdf

[EdinVA]

How is this possible?

Does this mean that a bakery does not have to bake a cake for a gay wedding then?

[Kamaji]

What business is it of the federal government to decide marriage issues?  Where is that even implied in the Constitution?

[EdinVA]

What business is it of the federal government to decide marriage issues?  Where is that even implied in the Constitution?

I think the issue is requiring states to recognize a marriage from another state....

[DefiantMassRINO]

 

A kinder, gentler, more tolerant GOP heading into the general elections?  Voters won't buy it.

Justices Alito and Thomas let the cat out of the bag.  General election voters know that GOP really want to go medieval on the "progress" the previous 75 years.