Senate to Move Forward on Gay Marriage Bill: Sen. Schumer

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) has confirmed that his party will move ahead with a vote on a House-passed bill that would codify gay marriage as a federal legal right.

The bill, dubbed the “Respect for Marriage Act,” is one of a series of bills passed in response to the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Clinic, a decision that overturned Roe v. Wade and returned the right to regulate and ban abortions to state legislatures.

The bill coming before the Senate in the coming days was passed by the House of Representatives in July, and would largely seek to codify the Supreme Court’s decision in Obergefell v. Hodges into federal law to make it more difficult to overturn.

“The vote on marriage equality will happen on the Senate floor in the coming weeks, and I hope there will be 10 Republicans to support it,” Schumer said in a statement promising a vote on the bill.

It remains unclear whether the legislation will garner enough support to overcome the 60-vote filibuster threshold, as few Republicans have publicly avowed to backing the bill.

Only three Republicans in the upper chamber—Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine), one of the sponsors of the bill, and outgoing Sens. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.)—have committed to voting for the bill when it comes to the floor.

Some other moderates in the party like Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) may join the trio. At least 10 Republicans will need to back it for it to make it to a simple majority floor vote.

Most Republicans, however, have not made a public statement on the bill one way or the other, saying that they will wait until they can review the text fully.

Several Republicans have already come out against the bill, though few have based