Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson on Thursday became the latest Republican senator to announce support for the Respect for Marriage Act, the House-passed bill that seeks to codify the right to same-sex marriage in federal law.
In a statement, Johnson said that although he believed the bill was “unnecessary” in light of existing judicial precedent pronouncing same-sex marriage as a constitutional right, he sees “no reason to oppose it.” He noted that since Obergefell v. Hodges, the 2015 ruling in which the Supreme Court held same-sex marriage to be protected under the due process clause and equal protection clause of the Constitution’s 14th Amendment, he has “considered the issue settled.”
DESPITE PROMISING ODDS, SENATE DEMOCRATS AREN’T RUSHING A HOUSE-PASSED SAME-SEX MARRIAGE BILL
Johnson’s support for the Respect for Marriage Act comes as Senate Republican leaders are acknowledging that the bill likely has enough support to pass. The Senate’s 60-vote threshold needed to circumvent a filibuster means that most legislation in the evenly divided upper chamber effectively requires the support of 10 Republicans to pass, but GOP leaders are signaling they believe there are at least 10 senators from their party who will back the bill.
Asked on Thursday whether it was possible the Respect for Marriage Act would receive enough GOP votes to pass, Senate Minority Whip John Thune (R-SD), the second-ranking Senate Republican, replied, “Yeah.” And Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC), who has said he will vote for the bill, told reporters on Thursday that “there’s a good chance there will be” enough Republican support.
Along with Johnson and Tillis, Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME), Rob Portman (R-OH), and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) are all on the record saying that they plan to vote for the Respect for Marriage Act. Additional GOP senators who are seen as possible supporters of the bill include Sens. Mitt Romney (R-UT), Pat Toomey (R-PA), Mike Rounds (R-SD), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), and Joni Ernst (R-IA), among others. Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) on Wednesday told reporters that he supported same-sex marriage but did not specify whether he would vote for the bill.
Ernst, a member of Senate Republican leadership, has so far declined to take a position on the Respect for Marriage Act but told reporters she’s keeping a “very open mind,” adding that she has “a good number of very close friends that are same-sex married.” Other members of GOP leadership, including Thune and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), have not indicated where they stand on the bill.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has not said when he plans to bring the bill to the floor for a vote, but every Senate Democrat is expected to support it, and President Joe Biden has said that he will sign the legislation when it reaches his desk.
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Johnson faces a tough reelection fight this year against likely Democratic nominee Mandela Barnes, Wisconsin’s incumbent lieutenant governor. Plagued by tough media headlines over his alleged involvement in efforts to decertify the 2020 presidential election, including an apparent ploy involving a slate of “alternate electors,” Johnson is a top target for Senate Democrats as they seek to expand their slim majority. With polls showing that large majorities of Americans favor same-sex marriage rights, Johnson’s unexpected support for the Respect for Marriage Act could be an attempt to reach out to moderate and independent voters, who might not be so keen to reelect an otherwise staunchly conservative senator.
If enacted, the Respect for Marriage Act would repeal the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, which defined marriage for federal purposes as a union between one man and one woman. It would also expand the federal definition of marriage to include same-sex unions and require states to recognize same-sex marriages performed elsewhere. Additionally, the bill would codify the right to interracial marriage, enshrining into federal law rights established by the Supreme Court’s 1967 ruling in Loving v. Virginia.
