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Senate group 'confident' with enough votes to codify same-sex marriage

Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio
Posted at 2:26 PM, Nov 14, 2022
and last updated 2022-11-15 18:35:52-05

A bipartisan group of lawmakers say they are "confident" they have enough votes to pass legislation that would codify same-sex marriage federally.

As Axios reported, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said on Monday that the legislation was scheduled for a Wednesday vote.

The Senate group that includes Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin from Wisconsin, Republican Sen. Rob Portman from Ohio, Democratic Sen. Kyrsten Sinema from Arizona and others said in a joint statement that they look forward to this legislation coming to the floor” and had been pushing for a vote as soon as possible.

The statement said, “Through bipartisan collaboration, we’ve crafted commonsense language to confirm that this legislation fully respects and protects Americans’ religious liberties and diverse beliefs, while leaving intact the core mission of the legislation to protect marriage equality."

“We look forward to this legislation coming to the floor and are confident that this amendment has helped earn the broad, bipartisan support needed to pass our commonsense legislation into law,” the statement continued.

“In overturning Roe v. Wade, the conservative Supreme Court majority indicated it is willing to attack other constitutional rights, including same-sex and interracial marriage,” Sen. Dianne Feinstein from California said in a statement.

“In fact, one justice specifically noted that the court’s Obergefell decision confirming same-sex marriage should be revisited. Our bill would repeal the discriminatory Defense of Marriage Act and ensure that marriage equality remains the law of the land,” the statement read.

At least 10 Republican Senate votes are needed for the bill to overcome a filibuster and move on for final passage.

Axios reported that only a "handful" of GOP lawmakers came out to publicly support the bill. It's believed that some Republicans who vote for the bill may not make it known how they will vote beforehand.