Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin seems to have reversed his position on the Respect for [Gay] Marriage Act, now saying the legislation to write [gay] marriage equality into federal law is “completely unnecessary,”reports TheAdvocate.
Johnson said last month that he saw "no reason to oppose" Nancy Pelosi's bill, which has been passed by the House and is pending in the Senate. He said then that he considered it unnecessary, as he thought the Supreme Court was unlikely to overturn Obergefell v. Hodges, the 2015 ruling that established equal marriage rights nationwide. Justice Clarence Thomas has said he'd like to see Obergefell overtruned.
But now Johnson, who was one of the few Republicans to publicly support the legislation, has stepped up his talk about it not being needed and said it needs to be amended to protect religious freedom.
“This is just Democrats opening up a wound that had really healed,” Johnson told Wisconsin TV station WISN recently. “I have always been supportive of civil unions, and the Supreme Court ruled on gay marriage and said, OK, that’s the decision, let’s move on.” He claimed the high court would never reverse that decision, unlike with its reversal of Roe v. Wade.
TAKE ACTION! CALL BOTH YOUR U.S. SENATORS (AND RON JOHNSON) AT 202-225-3121 TO SAY "THANK YOU" IF THEY OPPOSE GAY MARRIAGE AND VOTE "NO" ON H.B.8404.
He also called the bill “completely unnecessary” and said it needs an amendment on religious freedom before he’d support it. The bill has a provision barring anyone acting under a state law from denying full faith and credit to a marriage based on the sex, race, ethnicity, or national origin of the spouses. The U.S. attorney general would have the power to enforce this, and anyone harmed by such a denial would have a right to sue.
Earlier, Johnson had told Axios that his support for the legislation was never a sure thing. “I’ve never said I would support it,” he said. “I said I didn’t see a reason to oppose it.”
The bill needs 60 votes to overcome a filibuster in the Senate, and the chamber has just 50 Democrats and independents who caucus with them, so that means getting 10 Republicans behind it. Republican Sens. Rob Portman of Ohio and Susan Collins of Maine are cosponsoring it, and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Thom Tillis of North Carolina are considered likely Republican supporters. Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, who’s one of the lead sponsors, has said she’s confident it will get the necessary Republican support, but she’s working on clarifying religious freedom protections.
[Dr. Chaps' comment: YOUR PETITIONS ARE BEING HEARD BY SENATORS! But we've lost a third of Republicans in Congress, and ALL Democrats are pro-gay-marriage, locked down by money lobbyists. God Bless Clarence Thomas! But we need 45 Senators to block this.]