{"id":1637349,"date":"2022-09-09T06:30:30","date_gmt":"2022-09-09T10:30:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1637349"},"modified":"2022-09-09T06:49:16","modified_gmt":"2022-09-09T10:49:16","slug":"democrats-court-republicans-on-same-sex-marriage-bill-with-religious-liberty-protections","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/democrats-court-republicans-on-same-sex-marriage-bill-with-religious-liberty-protections\/","title":{"rendered":"Democrats court Republicans on same-sex marriage bill with religious liberty protections"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fdemocrats-court-republicans-on-same-sex-marriage-bill-with-religious-liberty-protections%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1637349&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/09064841\/90-140\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" alt=\"image\" \/><\/div>\n<div class=\"RichTextArticleBody\">\n<div class=\"RichTextArticleBody-body\">\n<div class=\"Enhancement\">\n<div class=\"Enhancement-item\"><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><span class=\"ArticlePage-articleBody-firstLetter\">D<\/span>emocrats attempting to codify federal protections for <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/gay-marriage\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">same-sex marriage<\/a> are negotiating <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/religion\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">religious<\/a> liberty provisions in a bid to win the Republican votes needed to pass the legislation. <\/p>\n<p>Democrats must secure the support of 10 GOP senators to clear the upper chamber\u2019s filibuster rule and begin debate on the Respect for Marriage Act, which the House passed with 47 Republican votes in July. <\/p>\n<p><b><a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/queen-elizabeth-ii-dead-longest-reigning-monarch-of-the-uk-dies-at-96\">QUEEN ELIZABETH II DEAD: LONGEST-REIGNING MONARCH OF THE UK DIES AT 96<\/a><\/b> <\/p>\n<p>Sen. Rob Portman (OH), one of the bill&#8217;s Republican sponsors, <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.portman.senate.gov\/newsroom\/portman-difference\/fox-news-special-report-portman-discusses-bipartisan-trip-ukraine-dhs\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">told<\/a> Fox News on Wednesday that he thinks the legislation will have enough votes to clear the chamber. But only a handful of Republicans have publicly offered their support. <\/p>\n<p><u><a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/chuck-schumer\">Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY)<\/a><\/u> told reporters this week that he plans to hold a floor vote on the bill in the coming weeks, with or without Republican backing. <\/p>\n<p>Republican Susan Collins (ME) and Democrat Tammy Baldwin (WI), the other two senators co-sponsoring the measure, are currently working on an amendment to clarify the legislative text to ensure it would not infringe on First Amendment rights to religious freedom. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are listening carefully to the concerns that have been raised by some of our colleagues,\u201d Collins told <i>Politico<\/i> this week. \u201cAnd we\u2019re looking at an amendment that would strengthen the language in the bill to make crystal clear that it does not in any way infringe upon religious liberty. And it also would correct a drafting error.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>The pair made a similar point in a joint op-ed for <u><a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/opinions\/2022\/09\/06\/tammy-baldwin-susan-collins-marriage-equality-overdue\/\">the <\/a><\/u><i><u><a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/opinions\/2022\/09\/06\/tammy-baldwin-susan-collins-marriage-equality-overdue\/\">Washington Post<\/a><\/u><\/i> this week, writing, \u201cWe recognize that some might need more clarity on this point, and that is why we have worked together with our Senate colleagues to develop clarifying language to the legislation that makes it clear what the Respect for Marriage Act would not do \u2014 it will not take away or alter any religious liberty or conscience protections.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>In addition to Collins and Portman, Republican Sen. Thom Tillis (NC) has indicated he would back the legislation, and Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), who supports same-sex marriage more broadly, is also seen as a likely &#8220;yes&#8221; vote. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) initially indicated support for the bill but <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.jsonline.com\/story\/news\/politics\/2022\/09\/07\/senator-ron-johnson-says-he-wont-back-respect-for-marriage-act-bill-current-form\/8007007001\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">walked back<\/a> his comments, according to a report this week, expressing the need for religious liberty protections. That leaves Democrats needing possibly six votes to pass the bill. <\/p>\n<p>Most of the Republicans who have made their opposition to the bill public, including Sens. Marco Rubio (FL) and Lindsey Graham (SC), have argued there is no serious effort underway to strip existing protections for same-sex couples and that the bill is merely Democrats\u2019 attempt to appeal to their base weeks before an election. <\/p>\n<p>But others, including Portman and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), have cited religious liberty concerns among their reasons for opposing the bill. <\/p>\n<p>Nathan Berkeley, communications director for the Religious Freedom Institute, told the <i>Washington Examiner <\/i>that if legal challenges leading up to and following the majority opinion in <i>Obergefell v. Hodges <\/i>are any indication, codifying same-sex marriage into federal law &#8220;would bring with it enormous challenges to religious freedom.&#8221; <\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn legislation codifying same-sex marriage, there might be ways to mitigate, but not to eliminate, such challenges,\u201d Berkeley said. <\/p>\n<p>Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) is reportedly drafting his own amendment to address religious liberty concerns. His office did not respond to a request for comment on what the amendment would include. <\/p>\n<p>Strengthening the religious liberty provisions may be something of an olive branch to Republicans who would otherwise not support the bill. <\/p>\n<p>Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT), who has not yet taken a position on the legislation but is seen as one of the Republicans more likely to support it, <u><a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/politics\/2022\/09\/07\/senate-negotiators-push-toward-same-sex-marriage-vote-this-month\/\">told the <\/a><\/u><i><u><a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/politics\/2022\/09\/07\/senate-negotiators-push-toward-same-sex-marriage-vote-this-month\/\">Washington Post<\/a><\/u><\/i> of the religious liberty protections, \u201cI\u2019m continuing to work on that, and that\u2019s the area of my focus.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Berkeley said one such area of concern is that the bill may go beyond what the high court ruled in <i>Obergefell<\/i> and encourage \u201charmful litigation against religious groups\u201d \u2014 extending to people, organizations, and businesses \u2014 \u201cmerely for operating according to their sincerely held religious belief that marriage is between one man and one woman.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Democrats have argued the bill is necessary in the wake of a June Supreme Court decision reversing <i>Roe v. Wade<\/i>, citing a concurring opinion issued by Justice Clarence Thomas that appeared to invite legal challenges to other rulings by the high court, such as those related to contraception and same-sex marriage. <\/p>\n<p>Schumer made that argument in his press conference on Wednesday, telling reporters, \u201cLet\u2019s remember why a vote on respect for marriage is necessary.\u201d <\/p>\n<p><b><u><a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\">CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER<\/a><\/u><\/b> <\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey made it abundantly clear they\u2019re not satisfied with repealing <i>Roe<\/i>,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Democrats attempting to codify federal protections for same-sex marriage are negotiating religious liberty provisions in a bid to win the Republican votes needed to pass the legislation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1637351,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1637349","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1637349","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1637349"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1637349\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1637351"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1637349"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1637349"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1637349"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}