U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) is backpedaling on his apparent support for a Democrat bill to codify forced recognition of same-sex “marriage” and open the door to federal recognition of polygamy, now suggesting that it would require changes to earn his consideration.
HR 8404, the so-called “Respect for Marriage Act,” would repeal the longstanding (but unenforced) Defense of Marriage Act (which recognized marriage as a man-woman union in federal law and protected states’ rights to do the same), federally recognize any “marriage” lawfully performed by any state, and force every state to recognize any “marriage” of any other state “between 2 individuals,” without regard for “the sex, race, ethnicity, or national origin of those individuals.” States would only have to recognize one another’s same-sex “marriages,” but the federal government would have to recognize any new union a state comes up with, such as a marriage of more than two people.
47 House Republicans joined every House Democrat in voting to pass it, with the blessing of House Republican leaders Kevin McCarthy and Steve Scalise. So far, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell has declined to stake out a public position on the legislation until Democrat majority leader Chuck Schumer announces a decision on bringing it to the floor.
Five Republican senators have either committed to or implied supporting the bill: Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, Thom Tillis, Rob Portman, and Ron Johnson. Democrats need a total of ten GOP defections to clear the Senate’s 60-vote filibuster threshold. Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) claims to have secured enough additional GOP votes to pass it.