Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) late last night filed a notice that he intends to bring up the (Dis)Respect Marriage Act for a vote on the Senate floor as early as Wednesday. The legislation would codify same-sex marriage and is written so broadly that it threatens religious liberty.
This legislation formally repeals the Defense of Marriage Act, which defined marriage in federal law as the union of one man and one woman. It dramatically raises the legal threats that men and women of faith are already facing if they refuse to affirm or participate in same-sex weddings. When the Supreme Court addressed the issue, lawyers for the federal government admitted that an organization’s tax-exempt status was “certainly going to be an issue” if it resisted efforts to redefine marriage. In other words, Christian churches, schools and other religious institutions would be in jeopardy.
This bad legislation has been languishing in the Senate because there were not 60 votes to shut down debate and bring it to the floor. To get 60 votes, Schumer would need 10 Republican senators to join all 50 Democrats in voting to advance it.
These GOP senators, reportedly, are leaning toward supporting the legislation. They are:
Senator Richard Burr (R-NC)
Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC)
Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT)
Senator Roy Blunt (R-MO)
Senator Rob Portman (R-OH)
Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK)
Senator Susan Collins (R-ME)
Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI)
Senator Pat Toomey (R-PA)
Action Item: Call the Capitol Hill Switchboard now at (202) 224-3121. Ask to be connected to your senator’s office. Tell the aide who answers that you expect your senator to vote “NO” on H.R. 8404, the so-called Respect for Marriage Act.
