Republican Sen. Ron Johnson has stated that he will not support a same-sex marriage measure owing to religious liberty issues. The Wisconsin Republican previously stated that he saw “no reason to reject” the bill in July. ‘I have always supported civil unions [and] never believed this law was required,’ Johnson told reporters at the Capitol on Wednesday. ‘This is just Democrats opening a wound that shouldn’t be opened.’ And now that I’ve spoken with folks, I’ve discovered some really severe worries about religious liberty.’
After passing the House 267-157 in July, with 47 Republicans voting with all Democrats, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., promised the upper chamber will take up the Respect for Marriage Act in September. Same-sex marriage is already legal in all 50 states, according to the 2013 Supreme Court decision, Obergefell v. Hodges, which determined that provisions of the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act that prohibited the federal government from recognizing same-sex partnerships for federal benefits were unconstitutional. Nonetheless, the statute remains in effect; the Respect for Marriage Act would abolish it.
Republican Sen. Ron Johnson has stated that he will not support a same-sex marriage measure owing to religious liberty issues. Republican Sen. Ron Johnson has stated that he will not support a same-sex marriage measure owing to religious liberty issues. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-New York, promised that the Respect for Marriage Act will be debated in the upper house in September.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-New York, promised that the Respect for Marriage Act will be debated in the upper house in September. Johnson originally indicated last week that he would not support the bill, perhaps contributing to its extinction. To break a filibuster in the divided Senate, Democrats required the support of ten Republicans.
‘I would not support it in its current form,’ Johnson stated at a Common Sense Citizens of Washington County meeting last week, according to a tape acquired by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Senators are currently working on a final version of the measure, with Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, stating that they want to ‘guarantee that religious rights are not infringed upon and that polygamous marriages are not permitted.’
‘At the same time, I don’t want to see millions of people’s lives interrupted.’ That seemed like a healed wound to me. Okay, let it go. ‘All right, go on,’ he added, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, which published the comments Wednesday. The senator from the right is up for reelection against his Democratic colleague. He appears to have reconsidered his position on the law from two months ago.
‘The Respect for Marriage Act is another example of Democrats instilling fear in an issue in order to further divide Americans for political gain. Even though I believe the Respect for Marriage Act is superfluous, I see no reason to reject it if it comes before the Senate,’ Johnson said in a July statement to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
A Democratic source told Reuters on Tuesday that Senate Democratic leadership may include language safeguarding gay marriage in a temporary package to keep the federal government funded in order to boost pressure on Republicans to support it. Such a move might increase the pressure in the chamber, which faces a Sept. 30 deadline to avert partial government agency shutdowns if funding runs out at the end of the month.
Congress has less than a month to enact the bill before returning to the campaign road ahead of the Nov. 8 midterm elections, in which Democrats are projected to lose their slender House majority and may lose the Senate. Without Johnson’s backing, three Republicans are considered safe ‘yes’ votes: Ohio Senators Collins and Rob Portman, as well as North Carolina Senator Thom Tillis.
Nine more Republican votes are up for grabs. Share or comment on this article: Republican Senator Ron Johnson says he will NOT support same-sex marriage legislation in its current form. Princess Charlotte, Prince George, and Prince Louis of Wales! Young royals have been endowed with new titles after King Charles III bestowed them on Kate and Prince William during a speech. Under the rule of their grandpa King Charles III, Prince George, nine, Princess Charlotte, seven, and Prince Louis, four, have new titles and are now known as ‘of Wales.’