The bill will need the support of ten opposition party senators to move forward
It was seen as a symbolic vote to record in the legislative annals that Democrats had tried to save same-sex marriages because no one had much hope of the bill becoming law, given the party’s lack of a majority in the Senate. Then the unexpected happened: 47 Republican delegates decided to join the Democrats’ plenary to support the Marriage Respect Act, which protects unions between same-sex, different races and even different nationalities.
The spectacle of conservatives supporting such a progressive cause has revived the initiative, which otherwise would not have reached the full Senate, where it would need ten Republican votes to be approved. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said he was so “impressed” that he immediately set to work with Wisconsin Senator Tammy Balwin to convince some of his House Republican colleagues.
Among those who supported the bill on Tuesday are Deputy Liz Cheney, daughter of Vice President Dick Cheney and a member of the bipartisan commission investigating the January 6 insurgency, Cuban-American Mario Díaz-Balart, a hardliner from exile from the United States. Miami, and a series of lawmakers from conservative states like Utah, Missouri, Pennsylvania or Ohio, in addition to those from New York and California.
What happened? Polls show that the Supreme Court isn’t comfortable with the jurisprudence it protects, but that same-sex marriage enjoys 71% of society, according to the latest Gallup poll. By comparison, only 27% supported it in 1996, when Bill Clinton signed a law defining marriage as an exclusive sacrament between a man and a woman. Going back to “tradition,” as the Supreme Court conservative majority has expressed in its ruling that squanders the right to abortion, would be highly unpopular, not only among progressives but also among Republicans.
This indicates that it will be easier to defend this right than that of women to terminate a pregnancy. At least 17 of them, all congresswomen, were held on the steps of the courthouse on Tuesday during an “obstacle” protest, the Capitol Police said, which also arrested 35 other protesters.
“I am angry and heartbroken,” tweeted Massachusetts Representative Katherine Clark, who ranks fourth in the House Democratic hierarchy. “They can arrest me, but I will not allow them to arrest our liberties. I will continue to fight with pride for our right to abortion and all our constitutional rights.”
Source: La Verdad
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