Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (DN.Y.) filed a repeal of the legislation Monday, setting up a first vote on the measure for Wednesday. “Because my top priority is to get things done in a bipartisan way whenever we can, we decided that this legislation was too important to risk failure, so we waited to give bipartisanship a chance. I hope for the sake of tens of millions of Americans that at least 10 Republicans will vote with us to protect marriage equality into law soon. The rights and dignity of millions of Americans depend on it.”
“Passage of this bill would provide necessary safeguards in federal law. I want to be clear — passing this bill is not a theoretical exercise, but it is so real,” Schumer said, referring to Justice Clarence Thomas’ opinion in the Hobbs decision in June, indicating that other protections could be in the works. The New York Democrat’s move shows the updated bill has the support of 10 Senate Republicans needed. The new deal updates the language ahead of the election and includes provisions to reassure GOP members on issues related to religious freedom.
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 the updated legislation, which protects non-profit religious organizations from providing services in support of same-sex marriage. It would also protect religious freedom and conscience protections under the Constitution and federal law.
“Through bipartisan cooperation, we created common-sense language to confirm that this legislation fully respects and protects Americans’ religious freedoms and diverse beliefs, while leaving intact the legislation’s core mission of protecting marriage equality,” said the senators in a statement.
“We look forward to this legislation and are confident that this amendment helped win the broad, bipartisan support needed to enact our common law,” they added. The updated language would also ensure that the federal government does not recognize polygamous marriage. Before the October recess, Schumer and Baldwin held the bill until the midterm elections, due to the GOP’s lack of willingness to support it at the time. If the Senate passes the legislation, the House would have to pass the measure to reach Biden’s desk. The House has already passed similar legislation, but it is not identical to the new deal. Forty-seven House Republicans initially voted in favor of the proposal in July. Updated at 5:41 p.m