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At least five Senate Republicans have indicated that they plan to support the House-passed “Respect for Marriage Act."
Christians and conservatives who generally support GOP candidates are shocked that at least 5 Republican senators say they will vote with the Democrats to codify the redefinition of marriage into law.
47 Republicans supported the bill in the House last week.
Are the Republicans about to snatch defeat out of the jaws of victory?
More than a view evangelical leaders are upset. Very upset.
Be informed, not misled.
The Respect for Marriage Act, which would codify the 2015 United States Supreme Court decision Obergefell v. Hodges that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide into federal law, passed the Democrat-controlled House last week. Forty-seven Republicans joined all Democrats in voting for the measure, which would repeal the Defense of Marriage Act that defines marriage as a union between one man and one woman and require all states to recognize same-sex marriages.
What triggered the homosexual advocacy panic was Justice Clarence Thomas' comments about the need to "reconsider all of this Court's substantive due process precedents," including "Obergefell" which is the basis for legalizing same-sex marriage, however, he also agreed with the majority in the abortion case, that "nothing in this opinion should be understood to cast doubt on precedents that do not concern abortion."
Snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.
The purposefully misnamed "Respect for Marriage Act" now awaits action in the Senate, where most legislation requires 60 votes to pass. In order for a bill to become law, it would need all 50 Senate Democrats and at least 10 Republicans.
Most of us who pay attention to these matters knew there would be 2 or 3 Republicans that would join the Democrats and vote against traditional marriage---and against those of us who believe marriage is only between a man and a woman.
There are already 5 Republicans committed, with others considering how they should vote.
Five more Republican votes would undo what Christian voters have worked for, prayed for, and voted for in the last 20-plus years.
- Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, was actually a sponsor of the legislation. She calls the bill "another step to promote equality, prevent discrimination, and protect the rights of all Americans."
- Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, says, "I have made it clear for years that I support gay marriage."
- Sen Thom Tillis, R-NC, says he will "probably" support the bill.
- Sen Rob Portman, R-Ohio, backs the bill.
- Sen. Ron Johnson R-Wis. says "although I feel the bill is unnecessary, if it comes before the Senate I see no reason to oppose it."
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, who launched this bill, is laughing while Satan is applauding.
Many Christian leaders are neither laughing nor applauding.
None the least of whom is Tony Perkins, president of Family Research Council.
Tony Perkins: "What has changed?"
When the Supreme Court delivered its blow to marriage in 2015, burning down three dozen state laws and tearing up 50 million ballots, the GOP’s reaction was straightforward. Outrage. With a handful of exceptions, the response that echoed across the two coasts was a collective “How dare they?” As far as Republicans were concerned, what the five justices did on that June day was a betrayal of the people, our system of government, and the pillar that’s upheld society since the beginning of time. “It’s an injustice,” they railed. Now, seven years later, they finally have a chance to prove it. The question is: will they?
Keep in mind that when the Supreme Court redefined marriage for America in 2015, we became only the 23rd country out of 195 to do so, and only one of seven to have it imposed on us by a court. Still today, there are only 33 countries that have gone down this path of redefining marriage.
But as time has gone on, Republicans seem to have gotten increasingly comfortable letting the court decide an issue they argued was rightly theirs. That shock was driven home Tuesday when 47 House members walked away from the party’s principles and platform to cast a vote for same-sex marriage. The list included a surprising number of our movement’s friends, men, and women we never mistook as anything but conservative. Now, Senate Majority Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), smelling blood in the water, is eager to drive an even deeper wedge — insisting he’ll move forward with his own vote if he can find 10 Republicans foolish enough to endorse it.
Twenty-four hours later, at least four Republicans have taken the bait, walking into a political trap that could very well eat into the margins the GOP needs in November.
Perkins continues:
Twenty-four hours later, at least four Republicans have taken the bait, walking into a political trap that could very well eat into the margins the GOP needs in November. To no one’s surprise, liberal Republicans Susan Collins (Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) are on board, as well as outgoing Senator Rob Portman (Ohio). But the real bombshells started dropping Wednesday, when more conservatives seemed to be testing the waters on a radical issue that seven years ago they vehemently opposed. Names like Roy Blunt (Mo.), Joni Ernst (Iowa), and Thom Tillis (N.C.) started popping up in news stories as possible “yes”es.
Just as astounding, only eight Republicans have jumped to marriage’s defense: Senators Bill Cassidy (R-La.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), James Lankford (R-Okla.) who spoke to Punchbowl News, Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), and Roger Wicker (R-Miss.). A whopping 37, many of them pro-family stalwarts, are either “undecided” or unresponsive, CNN reports. It’s an eerie silence from dozens of Republicans, who — just seven years ago — left zero doubt about where they stood.
What’s changed? Certainly not the significance of marriage — or the Constitution. Not the party’s platform or the role of states’ rights. If anything’s changed, it’s the ferocious war being waged against our children’s innocence, religious freedom, parents, and human biology. What’s changed is that we have a Republican Party willing to go to the mat for sports but seemingly unwilling to stand up for an institution whose redefinition has ignited a firestorm of persecution in America — the same redefinition that’s at the bitter root of so many evils we’re fighting today in school classrooms, public libraries, our daughters’ locker rooms.
The question.
Seven years from now, will we be saying that those issues don’t matter? That the world has “moved on?” That we know someone who’s transgender, and the only way we can love them is to hand society over to their delusions?
If Republicans want to stick their finger in the cultural winds to decide where they stand on timeless truths, then they are throwing away everything the American people have come to respect about today’s party — their courage, their common sense, their conviction. Maybe these senators think that linking arms with the Left makes them seem more compassionate or contemporary. But real leaders don’t vote out of fear or political calculus. They don’t take their cues from the courts or public opinion. They do what’s right, no matter what it costs them. That’s what voters respect. And that’s what voters, who have stood by this party’s values, deserve.
Amen!
Be Informed. Be Discerning. Be Bold. Be Vigilant. Be Prayerful.