Forty-seven House Republicans voted in favor of a bill to codify same-sex marriage rights.
H.R. 8404, called the Respect for Marriage Act, passed the House of Representatives on Tuesday with sponsorship from Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.).
The legislation stated that its purpose was to “repeal the Defense of Marriage Act and ensure respect for State regulation of marriage, and for other purposes.”
The bill passed in a vote of 267-157, with all 220 Democrats and 47 Republicans voting in support of the legislation, according to the House Clerk website.
Additionally, seven more lawmakers declined to vote, all were Republicans.
Included in the Republicans who voted for the measure were Reps. Liz Cheney (Wyo.), Adam Kinzinger (Ill.), Brian Mast (Fla.), Nancy Mace (S.C.), and Darrell Issa (Calif.).
The newly minted legislation is now headed to the Senate, and if passed will offer “statutory authority for same-sex and interracial marriages,” according to verbiage from the bill.
IN GENERAL.—No person acting under color of State law may deny—
H.R. 8404
‘‘(1) full faith and credit to any public act, record, or judicial proceeding of any other State pertaining to a marriage between 2 individuals, on the basis of the sex, race, ethnicity, or national origin of those individuals; or
‘‘(2) a right or claim arising from such a marriage on the basis that such marriage would not be recognized under the law of that State on the basis of the sex, race, ethnicity, or national origin of those individuals.
The bill might have delays in the Senate, however, as Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) reportedly stated that they currently have “more priorities than [they have] time,” according to HuffPost’s Igor Bobic.
Durbin says it will be tough to schedule votes in the Senate on bills protecting gay marriage, contraception given the packed calendar.
— Igor Bobic (@igorbobic) July 19, 2022
"We have more priorities than we have time," he says
The bill will have at least some Republican support as Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) has reportedly chosen to co-sponsor the bill in the Senate, according to NBC’s Sahil Kapur.
News: Republican @SenRobPortman will cosponsor the Respect For Marriage Act, the House-passed bill to codify legal same-sex marriage, his office tells me.
— Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) July 20, 2022
He made the decision last night after evaluating it.
“Republican @SenRobPortman will cosponsor the Respect For Marriage Act, the House-passed bill to codify legal same-sex marriage, his office tells me,” Kapur tweeted early Wednesday. “He made the decision last night after evaluating it.”