The Respect for Marriage Act, which seeks to establish same-sex marriage as the law of the land federally, is being rushed to the floor of the Senate. LGBT activists are hoping to use this bill to ensure same-sex marriage is handled federally, in case the Supreme Court overturns the Obergefell decision that took the decision out of the hands of the states. Like Roe, Obergefell was based on the substantive due process doctrine. As Roe has now been overturned, other cases that are underpinned by substantive due process claims are also on potentially shaky legal ground.
The response from the woke left is the “Respect for Marriage Act” which passed the House in July with bipartisan support. Our friends at the Alliance Defending Freedom have an excellent write-up available here, including details about a new amendment that was designed to attract Republican support.
From the Alliance Defending Freedom:
The Respect for Marriage Act threatens religious freedom and the institution of marriage in multiple ways:
It further embeds a false definition of marriage in the American legal fabric.
It opens the door to federal recognition of polygamous relationships.
It jeopardizes the tax-exempt status of nonprofits that exercise their belief that marriage is the union of one man and one woman.
It endangers faith-based social-service organizations by threatening litigation and liability risk if they follow their views on marriage when working with the government.
The truth is the Respect for Marriage Act does nothing to change the status of same-sex marriage or the benefits afforded to same-sex couples following Obergefell. It does much, however, to endanger religious freedom.
Sixty votes are needed to bring a bill to the Senate floor for a vote, and if the bill makes it to the floor, it will pass. The only way to stop this bill from passing is to deny it that initial 60 votes. Every Senate vote matters here. Sadly, Senator Murray and Senator Cantwell have both been public in their support for this bill.
Regarding this bill when it passed in the House in July, Senator Thune, the Republican Senate Whip, said, “there was pretty good bipartisan support in the House yesterday and I expect there’d probably be the same thing you’d see in the Senate.”
It is a sad day when assaults on religious liberty are supported broadly by both parties.
Please still contact Senator Cantwell (HERE) and Senator Murray (HERE) and let them know where you stand.
Pray for our nation, the organizations likely to be affected by this ruling, and the people who may lose access to faith-based social-service organizations as a result of this bill.