Pelosi Convinces 47 GOP Defectors To Protect Gay Marriage 267-157

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The Respect for Marriage Act is designed to take back control of legislation from the ultra-right-heavy Supreme Court and especially Justice Clarence Thomas. The bill protecting LGBTQ rights passed Tuesday 267-157 meaning that 47 Republicans actually broke rank and voted with the Democrats, CBS News reported. Seven of them abstained.

The bill still must pass through the gauntlet of a 50-50 Senate. The Respect for Marriage Act included a provision to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). That bill became law in 1996 and defined marriage as only a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife,” according to The New York Times.

In addition, it defined the word “spouse” to mean “a person of the opposite sex who is a husband or a wife.” But times have changed.

On the House floor, Judiciary Committee Chair Representative Jerry Nader (D-NY) argued that the bill would “reaffirm that marriage equality is and must remain the law of the land.” And that should be the end of questioning it. Nader said:

‘Even if we accept the court’s assurance in Dobbs that its decision does not call other rights into question, Congress should provide additional reassurance that marriage equality is a matter of settled law.’

Nader continued:

‘All married people who are building their lives together must know that the government will respect and recognize their marriages for all time.’

Openly gay Representative Mondaire Jones (D-NY) called a potential SCOTUS reversal of LGBTQ rights based upon the word “personal:”

‘The far-right 6-3 majority on the Supreme Court is on a rampage against basic freedoms currently enjoyed by the American people. In his concurring opinion in Dobbs, Justice Clarence Thomas gave us a heads-up that the court is next coming for the ability of same-sex couples to get married. I am one of only nine openly gay members of this body. For me, this is personal.’

Another openly gay Representative Sean Patrick Maloney (D-NY) brought his personal relationship into the argument:

‘Today we’re gonna vote for the Respect for Marriage Act to decide and to make clear whether or not we will go back.’

The representative added:

‘Whether or not every American, despite their race or their sexuality, has the freedom to marry the person they love. It’s a simple choice, and I know where I stand. And every member of Congress will get to stand and be counted today, and you can choose between equality or discrimination.’

Committee ranking member Jim Jordan (R-OH)  called the new legislation “completely unnecessary” and the “latest installment” to “delegitimize and attempt to intimidate the United States Supreme Court.”

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Jordan pointed to Justice Sam Alito’s opinion, which read:

‘We emphasize that our decision concerns the constitutional right to abortion and no other right. Nothing in this opinion should be understood to cast doubt on precedents that do not concern abortion.’

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But was SCOTUS trustworthy any longer? The midterms will determine whether this new bill will ever pass the Senate, because this is the nation’s one and only opportunity to retain democracy.


In Gloria Christie Reports & Three White Lions Substack newsletters, Gloria Christie includes her week’s most important news/ commentary stories in the liberal online newspaper The Bipartisan Report. Gloria Christie Report her newsletters are for people on the go. Written in her own unique style with a twist of humor in a briefer version of Bipartisan Report. Christie’s Mueller Report Adventures In Bite-Sizes a real-life compelling spy mystery (in progress). Find her here on Facebook. Or at Three White Lions her book on Amazon Kindle Vella.