Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (DN.Y.) voted this week for the bill, dubbed the Respect for Marriage Act, after a bipartisan group of senators unveiled a deal that updated language to reassure GOP members about religious freedom concerns. “The doctrine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints relating to marriage between one man and one woman is widely known and will remain unchanged,” the church said in a statement. “We are grateful for the continued efforts of those working to ensure that the Respect for Marriage Act includes adequate religious freedom protections while respecting the law and preserving the rights of our LGBTQ brothers and sisters,” the statement continued. “We believe this approach is the way forward.” The statement marks a shift from 2008, when the church strongly supported efforts to pass Proposition 8 in California, which required the state to recognize only marriages between a man and a woman in an effort to prevent officials from issuing marriage licenses of the same sex. After delaying until the midterm elections, a group of five senators — Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.), Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and Thom Tillis (RN .C.) — released an updated version of the Respect for Marriage Act on Monday, signaling they had enough votes to break Senate deadlock. Efforts to pass the legislation came after the Supreme Court rejected abortion protections in late June. Justice Clarence Thomas said in a concurring opinion that he believed the court should consider other cases rooted in the same constitutional issue as the abortion case, including the 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges decision that struck down marriage bans of homosexuals nationally. The bill would require the federal government to recognize a marriage if it was valid in the state where it was performed and guarantee that valid marriages will have full faith and credit in other states. GOP outrage spills over into Senate hot lunch Male fertility crash accelerates worldwide: study The senators also said the new version of the bill would clarify religious freedom protections, including language confirming that nonprofit religious organizations would not be required to provide services or facilities for marriage. To pass the Senate, the bill would need the support of 10 Republicans, assuming all Democrats vote in favor of the legislation. The House earlier this year passed a slightly different version of the bill, which was cosponsored by nearly 50 House Republicans.
