Delayed vote on Respect for Marriage Act

GOP Senators play it safe, vote after midterm elections

By: Audrey Cole TRT Reporter

Senate Democrats in mid-September decided to postpone a vote on legislation to secure marriage equality for millions of Americans until after the midterm elections to garner more support from key Senate Republicans. The GOP Senators did not want to cast their votes to avoid losing their conservative voters’ support.

Senator Tammy Baldwin (D- Wisconsin), the lead sponsor of the Respect for Marriage Act, H.R.8404, (https://bit.ly/3dYkclN), said to The New York Times (NYT; https://nyti.ms/3SI3aHA) that delaying the vote would increase its prospects to pass in the evenly split Senate, where 60 votes would be necessary to move it forward.

However, the postponement angered other Democrats, like Senator Elizabeth Warren (Mass.), who expressed that everyone should go on record about it, without the use of political strategies.

“We need to vote on equal marriage today,” said the Bay state Senator to the NYT. “Every single member of Congress should be willing to go on the record. And if there are Republicans who don’t want to vote on that before the election, I assume it is because they are on the wrong side of history.”

Agreeing with Warren, GLBTQ

Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) Executive Director Janson Wu issued a statement denouncing the postponement.

“We are deeply frustrated and disappointed by the decision not to hold a vote next week on the Respect for Marriage Act and instead to wait until after the midterm elections,” said Wu of the postponement. “Americans should not have to fear for another minute that their marriage and their family won’t be protected and respected.

“The Respect for Marriage Act is a no-brainer that codifies the status quo of respect by states and the federal government for validly celebrated marriages without regard to the sex, race,